The Mistake
by Triplet99c
Summary: It all started with a mistake; just Mikey accidentally spilling reject liquids in his brother's lab. But, when something evil gets created from those liquids, the turtle brothers must do whatever it takes to protect themselves, their family and their friends from this creature.
1. Chapter 1

**Ch. 1**  
 **The Situation**

"Just one more screw," Donnie muttered to himself as a picked up a mini screwdriver. "Why does Raph keep breaking his T-Phone? Geez, he needs to be careful."

He continued to screw in the itty bitty screw into the piece of technology as he complained to himself. "Doesn't he get how fragile this is?" He rolled over to another table in his wheeled office chair and grabbed a small chip and a pair of tweezers.

"Almost there," Donnie mumbled, sticking his tongue out in concentration. He slowly lowered in the microchip and sat there smiling with satisfaction.

"Done!" he sang as he put the back on the phone. "Fixed the screen and everything." He glanced at his clock. "In a little over an hour too! New record!"

He leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up onto his work space. "Time to relax a bit..."

That's when he heard his door slam open. He glanced behind his shoulder in horror as the edge of the door hit one of his tables. Two vials fell over and tumbled to the floor, glass shattering. The green and yellow liquids mixed together from the vials to create a lime green color.

Donnie whipped around to face his younger brother, who was standing at the door frame, his eyes the size of plates.

"Mikey!" Donnie yelled, shooting him a glare.

"Eheh..sorry about that, dude," he said nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "I...I'm sorry... I-I can clean it-"

Donnie held up his hand to shush his brother and closed his eyes.

"No need, it's fine," the purple banded turtle replied with a sigh. "I'll just clean it up myself." He opened his eyes then, looking at the T-phone he just repaired.

"Here," he said, handing the phone over to Mikey. "Give this to Raph. I'm sure he's wanting it." He then gave Mikey a quizzical glance. "How'd Raph's T-phone break anyways?"

"He threw it," Mikey replied, turning the phone in his hands. "Like this." He raised his arm and was about to demonstrate Raphael's actions.

"No n-no Mikey!" Donnie shouted. "Don't you drop that!"

Mikey stopped in mid-motion, looking at his brother with a confused look. "Oh, right."  
"So, WHY did he throw it?" Donnie couldn't help but ask, resting his arm in his work table. "Anger issues?"

"You could say that," Mikey said, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Leo beat him at pinball, so..." his voice then trailed off as his eyes looked down at where the liquids had spilled over.

"Huh." he said.

"What are you 'huh'ing about?" Donnie asked as he turned in his chair to get a better peek. "Oh?" He stared at the thing Mikey pointed out as if he were seeing things. "Am I going crazy, or was there just a puddle of liquid there a moment ago?"

"If you're crazy, then I am." Mikey replied. He then gasped. "We're both crazy?! Oh, Donnie, I never thought I'd be crazy!"

Donnie slapped his palm on his forehead and groaned. "It's an expression," he grumbled as he slid his hand off his face. He got out of his chair and crouched down by the scene.

"There's...there's nothing there! But...how?" He leaned in. "It couldn't have seeped through the floor. This is a sewer, we have no floorboards!"

"Are you sure?" Mikey asked innocently.

Donnie looked behind his shoulder with a unamused glare. "Positive." he said flatly. "I...uh, I guess you can just give that T-phone to Raph."

"No problem, D," Mikey said with a small smile as he turned on his heel and started out the door. But he then stopped and turned back around.

"Oh, dude, you wanna play pinball with all of us? We're all gonna see who gets the highest score." He looked at Donnie with a mixture of pride and a devilish-prankster look.

"And maybe I'll beat Raph this time!" He chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, sure," Donnie mumbled, not really paying attention. His mind was still shocked that the puddle just seemed to "magically" disappear. "I'll be out in a sec."

As Mikey turned and left, Donnie still stared at the spot where the liquids were. _Good thing they were rejects,_ he thought to himself. _Glad it wasn't anything important._

He then sighed, stood to his feet and turned off his light to conserve energy. "Coming!"

"Alright, here's the results!" Leo said after many, many minutes of playing pinball. "In first is... Mikey! Second, me. Third, Raph. And last but not least is Donnie."

"Yeah," Donnie said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't play pinball much."

"Third?!" Raph exploded, his bright green eyes blazing with rage. "I got in third?! _Mikey_ beat _me_?"

"Raph, relax," Leo said, holding his hands out to stop him. "It's just a game, no big deal at all."  
"Well, it's a big deal to me," Raph grumbled, crossing his arms over his plastron.

"All that matters is that we got to spend quality time as brothers," Leo pointed out.

"Peach it!" Mikey shouted from the other side of the room, pumping his fist in the air.

"Fine, then, whatever you say, Leo," Raph replied. A smirk then appeared on his lips as he heard a ding from the oven go off, signaling the pizza Mikey had put in earlier was now cooled off."But, I get the first slice of pizza." He then began to sprint to the kitchen.

"Hey!" Donnie yelled, running after him. "I was in last! I should get the first slice!"

By the time Donnie reached the kitchen, it was too late. His hothead brother already had the slice of pizza in his mouth, chewing slowly to taunt his younger brother.

"Aww, man," Donnie whined. "Raph got the biggest slice!"

Everyone groaned but got plates and each took a couple slices of the pepperoni topped pizza.

Everyone took their rightful seats at the table, munching on their dinner.

They all ate in silence, but of corse, Mikey broke that silence every now and again. Then, Raph cleared his throat.

"I still don't get how Mikey won," he said, taking another bite of pizza. He then looked over at his freckled brother. "Maybe he cheated."

"I did not!" Mikey said. "I played fair and..."

"Square?"

"Yes! That!"

"Look, Raph, it's obvious Mikey didn't cheat," Donnie explained. "I watched him the whole time."  
Raph gave his brother a blank, unamused look. "Ok?"

"If Mikey would've cheated, we all would've known." Leo said as he finished off his last bite of pizza.

"Yeah! You didn't think I cheated, did I?" Mikey asked innocently. "Huh?"

Raph sighed, going over to the sink and washing off his plate.

"You know what? I don't even care anymore."

Leo glanced at the clock and he stood up quickly. "Guys," he said.

"What?" everyone asked in unison, turning their heads towards their leader.

"I almost forgot. Master Splinter wanted us to do training right now!"

"That was tonight?" Mikey wailed. "I forgot!"

"Yeah, we all did, Mikey." Raph said.

Everyone got up and started heading to the dojo to begin their routines, but Donnie ran to his lab once again.

"Donnie?" Leo snapped, stopping in his tracks. "Where are you going?"

"I forgot my bō staff in my lab!" Donnie called over his shoulder as he ran. "Meet you in there!"

He quickly ran into his lab and grabbed his staff and was about to run back out the door. But something caught his attention.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a faint yellow glow. "What?" he muttered to himself as he crouched down. A realization then hit him: it was the same place the reject liquids had spilled and mixed.

"Why is it glowing?" he wondered allowed. He leaned in closer to get a better look. When he got closer to the glowing, he noticed it became much brighter.

Donnie stumbled back and fell on his bottom, his bō staff dropping out of his hand. "Wha-"

He scrambled to his feet, grabbing his bō staff off of the floor in the process. He started to run towards the dojo, shocked.

"I need to tell my brothers!"

The purple banded turtle quickly sprinted into the dojo, clutching his bō staff tightly, shouting his brothers' names in the process.

"Donnie?" Leo asked, clearly confused. "What...What is this?"

"Leo!" Donnie cried as he skidded to a stop in front of his brothers, panting with his hands resting on his knee pads.

"There's...there's something going on in my lab," he explained. He then glanced over at Mikey. "Mikey, do you remember how you accidentally spilled those reject liquids?"

Mikey nodded. "Yeah. Wait. They weren't important? Phew!" He wiped his forehead.

"Yes, Mikey, they weren't important. And you know how the puddle of liquid just...disappeared?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So, the spot where it spilled is...is glowing!"

Raph raised an eyebrow at his brother. "This for real?" he asked, sounding very unconvinced.

"I swear, Raph, it's real!"

"So you're saying the stuff you spilled is magic?" Raph smirked and crossed his arms.

"What? Wait, no! Just...just come see!"

Donnie dashed towards his lab. His brothers shrugged and followed suit.

Donnie's brothers stared at the spot in confusion.

"See guys, I told...you?" Donnie's mouth dropped open to see the spot was no longer glowing.

"But..."

"Donnie, you may just be seeing things," Leo said calmly, putting his hand on Donnie's shoulder.

"I swear it was there," Donnie snapped, shrugging Leo's hand off. "It was glowing yellow!"

"Have you been sleeping okay?" Leo asked him.

"Yes!" Donnie shouted. "To be accurate, you don't start seeing hallucinations until you haven't slept for 3 days, or 72 hours. And, I can promise you, I have slept lately."

"Donnie," Raph said. "There's nothing there."

Mikey nodded. "Not looking well for you, dude." he said sympathetically.

"Come on, guys." Leo said, turning around. "Let's go and practice.

They all then turned and started to walk off, leaving Donnie standing there, mouth wide open and shocked about this whole situation.

"But...I know it..."


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2  
Truth Be Told

Donnie sat at his work bench, rubbing his temples as he groaned. He hasn't slept all night, due to the fact that his brothers didn't believe him about the whole glowing thing.

Donnie didn't even know why he was in his lab again; he thought it would calm his thoughts to be at his table. But, he didn't have anything to work on, so why was he here?

He had been there for about a good two hours already, and his brothers decided to leave him be. Perhaps that was best. After all, the purple banded turtle wasn't really in the mood for talking.

Donnie let out a yawn as he tinkered away on a random object he found in his lab. He had damaged it purposely, just so he could have something to keep his mind busy. He was in the middle of his work when he heard a soft tapping on his doorframe.

"Uh, dude?"

"What do you want, Mikey?" Donnie asked, not even turning in his chair to face his brother. "I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"Yeah, I can tell," Mikey said as he cleared his throat. He looked at his older brother with concern, although Donnie didn't see his glance. "But, anyway, you okay?"

"Peachy," Donnie said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "And not really in the mood to talk. If talking's what you want to do, I'd suggest finding Leo or something."

"Already tried," Mikey muttered with a sigh. "He's got himself focused on reruns..."

"You wanna talk?" Donnie put down his screwdriver and turned himself in his chair, crossing his arms and giving Mikey a tired look in the process. "Let's talk."

"About what?"

"Oh, well, I don't know, you're the one that came in here. It's only reasonable for you to know what to talk about, yes?"

"Someone got off on the wrong side of the bed," Mikey said as his eyes lowered slightly.

"I never even went in a bed," Donnie murmured. "My head didn't hit the pillow at all last night."

"Were you thinking about that incident yesterday?"

"You could say that."

Mikey then peeked around Donnie's shoulder to see what he was working on.

"What's that?"

"Nothing. Literally, nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me," Mikey said, a small smile appearing on his face. "After all, there's something on your work table."

"I know, Mikey." Donnie sighed. "I literally broke something so I'd have something to do..."

Mikey raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty upset about this whole thing, huh?"

"If you couldn't already notice," Donnie replied as he started rubbing his temples again.

"Well, I don't think you'll be upset anymore."

"Why's that?"

"Look!"

" _What_ Mikey?"

"I said _look!_ " Mikey cried as he pointed his finger at what he saw.

Donnie's eyes followed Mikey's finger to see what his brother was talking about. Donnie gasped at what he saw.

"Again?" he asked. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the sight. "It's glowing...again?"

"So, I guess you weren't lying," Mikey replied.

Donnie studied the glowing area closely. "It's bigger than before," he said, looking up at Mikey. "Around three times as big, exactly."

"Really?"

"Yes, Mikey."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mikey pull out his phone. He then raised it up over the glowing area.

"Mikey, _what_ are you doing?" Donnie couldn't help but ask. He then saw a flash come from the camera and knew exactly what Mikey was doing. "Wait, Mikey! You're a genius!"

Mikey lowered the phone after taking several pictures. "I am?" he asked.

"Yes!" Donnie cried. "We can show Raph and Leo these pictures! Then they'll believe us!"

"Oh!" Mikey said, finally realizing.

"Go!" Donnie almost shouted. "Go show it to them!"

"Be right back, D!" Mikey called behind his shoulder as he ran out the door. He ran into the living room, finding Leo and Raph fighting each other.

"Come on, Raph," Leo said. "Try and hit me! Just once!"

Raph growled and tried to punch his older brother, but missed. Again.

Leo held up his hands to stop the training. "Raph," he said. "Master Splinter has told you this-deal with your anger."

"And how many times have I heard _that_?" Raph spat.

"Guys, guys!" Mikey shouted as he ran into the room.

The two brothers turned around. Almost in unison, they let out a sigh and said: "What?" Raph then looked over at Leo with a weirded out face and Leo returned it.

"I guess we're twins now, apparently." Raph mumbled.

Leo then looked at Mikey curiously. "What is it?" he asked.

Mikey pulled out his T-phone from his belt and held it triumphantly, getting quizzical glances from his older brothers.

"Yes, Mikey, that's a phone." Raph said with a small smirk. "And those on your phone are buttons. You use those to dial-"

"Enough, Raph." Leo interrupted. "Mikey knows what a phone is...I hope." He then looked back at Miley, waiting to see what he wanted to show them.

"I got a picture!" Mikey explained. "And-"

"Don't tell me it's another selfie with ice cream kitty," Raph said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"What? No!" Mikey shouted, growing a bit angry. "But you have to admit, those are pretty cute!" He then went through his pictures until he found the one he wanted. "Here," he said, handing over the phone to Leo while giving Raph a quick glare in the process.

"That glowing stuff Donnie was mentioning yesterday?" Leo wondered aloud.

"Let me see," Raph said, snatching the phone from the blue-banded turtles' hands. He then rolled his eyes. "Not this again! Mikey, did you edit this picture?"

Leo gave Raph an annoyed look and sighed. "Do you really think Mikey knows how to photo edit?"

Raph sat there speechless for a moment. "Good point." he replied.

Leo then took the phone back, swiping through the photos. Mikey had gotten at least five pictures of the glowing area, all at different angles.

"Since when did you become smart?" Raph wondered.

"Since you got dumber," Leo replied with a snicker.

"Hey!" Raph shouted, whacking Leo on the back of his head. "I haven't gotten dumber. Maybe you're the one who's become that way, Leo."

Mikey looked at Leo, smiling from his joke.

"You think you're so funny, huh?" Raph said, narrowing his eyes. "You just think I'm so stupid, huh?" He then removed the sais from his belt. "Maybe I'll lower your IQ a bit. What do ya say?"

"Raph, quit it." Leo hissed. "It was just a joke."

Raph put away his weapons, still showing that he was angry.

"Wow..." Leo said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "We owe Donnie an apology, huh?"

Mikey nodded, putting his phone away. "That includes you Raph."

"Whatever."

"You know what we're gonna do?" Leo then asked.

"What?" Mikey wondered.

"We are all going to go into Donnie's to lab right now to apologize to him."

"Sounds fair to me." Mikey replied as Leo started walking. Raph let out a huff but followed as well.

They found Donnie sitting at his workable, working on the random piece of junk he'd been tinkering on earlier. His head then came up when he heard a faint knocking on his door frame. Mikey stood there, grinning.

"Donnie," he whispered happily. "They believe you! It worked!"

Donnie let out a sigh of relief, allowing himself to lean back in his office chair.

"Don," Leo said, clearing his throat awkwardly. "We just came here to say we're sorry we didn't believe you yesterday. So, I am sorry."

"Me too!" Mikey added.

"I think you already apologized by taking those pictures," Donnie explained.

"Sweet!" Mikey sang. "I just apologized twice! In your face, Leo!"

Leo then elbowed Raph in the ribs and gave him a quick glare.

"What?" Raph asked. He then saw Leo gesture with his head towards Donnie and instantly knew. "Fine... I'm.. Uh...sorry." The word 'sorry' coming out in a soft whisper.

"I guess that'll do," Donnie sighed. "After all, it's pretty hard to get an apology out of Raph."

"Well, glad you're happy," Leo said with a smile. "What do you say we all rematch each other on pinball?"

"Heck yeah!" Mikey cried, pumping his fist in the air. He then got an evil grin on his face. "And maybe I'll beat Raph again!" He then turned and started sprinting towards the pinball machine.

"Oh no you don't!" Raph shouted, dashing after him. He stood behind Mikey in line to make sure he'd be next.

Donnie then turned to Leo.

"Mikey knows that even if he goes first, it doesn't effect his chances, right?"

"No," Leo replied with a sigh. "I don't think he does."

-  
They'd finished their game about an hour ago and had eaten some more pizza after that. Mikey had made jellybean and anchovy pizza, which his brothers gagged down eventually.

The brothers then went their separate ways, doing whatever they wished. Leo went into the dojo to do some extra training, Mikey and Donnie dueled each other on a video game and Raph had locked himself in his room, reading a magazine about motorcycles.

He turned this pages, already bored. He'd read this comic several times already, and it no longer interested him. He glanced at a picture of a motorcycle he always personally liked; a black motorcycle with red and orange flames swirling up the sides.

As Raph turned to the next page, he saw a faint yellow light fill his small room. He peeked over his magazine, and was surprised to see how large the glowing area was. It was the length 12' ruler and the height of a door.

Raph lowered his magazine, staring at the glowing area with curiosity.

"Nice try, Mikey!" Raph said. "I know you're pulling a prank on me! Nice light show you have there."

But no one came out. Raph rolled his eyes, setting the magazine on his bed next to him. He then stood to his feet.

"Come on out, Mikey!"

Still no answer. Raph was growing angry now.

"I know you're here!"

He then walked around searching, expecting Mikey to be in the corner or on the ceiling, snickering. But Mikey wasn't found.

He then turned and saw that a large creature was riding off of the glowing area. Raph raised and eyebrow.

"What...?"

The creature was very odd. It was a yellow-green color, and looked like a glob of slime. It was tall, around seven feet tall. It had no eyes, no legs, no arms, no mouth. It just seemed like a blob.

Raph stared at it was a weird expression. He didn't know what to do. Fight it? Or ignore it. It seemed harmless to him.

The creature seemed to study him, even though it had no eyes. It then turned a darker green shade, leaving Raph just staring.

He then shrugged his shoulders and walked back towards his bed, muttering about how stupid this thing was.

Within a flash, the thing grew two tentacle-like arms, and trust them toward Raph. It twisted its "arm" around, grabbing Raph's sais and throwing them to the floor.

Raph turned around with surprise.

"How did you...you don't even have fingers!" He then let out an irritated sigh, reaching down to grab his weapons off the floor.

His head then snapped up as he heard and high pitched screech come from the gooey creature.

And that's when Raph's brothers heard him scream.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Mistake Ch.3**  
 **And Things Go Wrong**

The very instant the guys heard Raph's scream, they all stopped what they were doing. Donnie hit the pause button on the game controller and looked at Mikey with a look that had a mixture of both fear and concern in it. Mikey looked back at him, the same look plastered on his freckled face.

"Was that Raph?" Mikey asked as he set his controller down.

"I think so." Donnie replied as he too put down his game controller. "And judging by that scream, it didn't sound good." Donnie was getting a gut feeling that something was seriously wrong.

They both turned to see Leo dashing out of the dojo, not even bothering to put the blindfold he'd been using away in its proper spot. "Guys!" he shouted, throwing the blindfold on the floor. "Who screamed?" He stopped in front of his brothers, looking back and forth at them.

"Wasn't us!" Mikey said. He then gestured towards where all their rooms were with his thumb. "It was Raph!"

"What?" Leo answered, after a few seconds of processing things. "But-"

"We don't know what happened, and we don't know why he screamed," Donnie interrupted, standing to his feet. "But, the longer we sit around...who knows? Raph could be in serious trouble and we wouldn't even know it!" He threw his hands in the air. "So, I suggest we hurry up!"

Leo then sprinted towards Raph's room, his brothers following close behind. Leo grew nervous. Just like Donnie, he had a very bad feeling. They all stopped in front of Raph's door, looking at each other.

Leo inhaled and exhaled slowly, and put his three fingers into a fist. He then brought it down on the door, knocking a few times.

"Raph?" Leo called, keeping his fist on the door so he could knock again. "You in there?" He listened for a few seconds, but heard nothing, not even footsteps. "Raph?" he knocked again, but still got no form of an answer.

"Alright, Raph." Leo said, taking a step back. "If you don't come out in three seconds, I'm gonna kick your door down!"

Donnie gulped. "You... _are?_ "

"Yeah," Leo replied, not turning around. "That'll be the only way to get him out." He listened again, but still heard nothing.

"Guess I'll have to fix the door," Donnie huffed, as he crossed his arms and pouted.

"One..." Leo raised his foot slightly, but his toes still touched the floor. "Two..." Leo raised his foot off the ground, so he was now standing on one leg. "Three!" He kicked his leg forward as hard as he could into the wooden door. The hinges broke and they all winced as the door fell to the ground with a loud thud. They all then gasped with horror at what they saw.

The strange green blob stood in the center of the room, still the green color it had changed to earlier. Raph was inside it, pounding his fist on the creature, trying to make it release him. His punches had no effect, and it didn't seem to hurt the blob of slime.

"Raph!" everyone cried out in unison. They stared at the creature before them, with both looks of horror and confusion.

"What _is_ that thing?" Mikey asked, eyes widening, getting a disgusted face suddenly. "It's weird!"

"I have no idea," Donnie replied, studying the thing over. His reddish-brown eyes scanned up and down, looking at all its features. "Nothing I've seen before..."

"You mean to tell me you don't know what this is?" Leo cried. He then looked back up at Raph, who was still punching away at the creature. He was yelling, but none of the turtles heard any sound.

"It's blocking out the noise," Donnie whispered. "No wonder we couldn't hear anything!" His eyes then widened with surprise when he saw the creature turn back to its regular yellow-green color. The thing then started to shake, giving Donnie his bad vibes again.

"Is it going to explode?" Mikey asked, covering his mouth with his hands, getting ready to be covered with slime. But everyone then gasped as it stopped shaking and a slimy, watery green liquid started to fill up inside it. Raph glanced downward, and his brothers could see a spark of fear in his eyes.

"Raph!" Mikey shouted. He pushed past his brothers and ran up to the creature, punching it with all his might. "Let my brother go!" His fists pummeled the thing, but it didn't seem to notice.

Within seconds, the strange liquid was already over Raph's knee pads. He glared at Mikey, and he stopped punching.

"What?" Mikey asked, watching the liquid go over Raph's torso. "What do I do?"

"Punching it isn't going to work," Donnie pointed out. "We need to try something else, and quick!" He rubbed his chin, thinking and plotting. "Leo," he then said. "Use your katanas to penetrate through the creature! That way, the liquid will flow out, and the creature will eventually deflate." But all he got was a blank stare from Mikey.

Donnie sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Ugh...Mikey, it makes it pop." He brought his hands out to the sides dramatically, making a popping sound with his mouth. Mikey then smiled and nodded at this.

"See?" he said. "You need to just speak English _all_ the time!"

"We don't really have time for this!" Leo hissed, pointing up at the creature. The liquid was up to Raph's neck. Raph was no longer touching the bottom of the creature. Instead, his feet were upward, floating almost. After all, that's how it is underwater.

Mikey frantically started punching the thing again, but this seemed to make it annoyed. It grew the tentacle arms, wrapping one around Mikey's torso and lifting him off the floor.

"Hey!" Mikey yelled as he literally got swept off his feet. "Put me down!" The thing then threw Mikey on the ground, flat on his face. Mikey landed with a pained grunt, and propped himself up. "Ow," he groaned, glaring at the creature. " _Not_ cool!"

"You said to use my katanas?" Leo asked. He then unsheathed his duel swords, a small smirk appearing on his face. But the smirk quickly faded away when he saw the liquid was up to Raph's mouth. "Okay, guys, here's the plan." Leo pointed up at the creature looming above them. "Mikey, Donnie, run around this thing and distract it. While you're distracting it, I'll attack."

"Gotcha!" Donnie said, giving his brother a quick thumbs up before speeding around the creature in circles. Mikey followed, staying far behind him.

"Yoo hoo!" Mikey shouted, sticking out his tongue and waving his fingers over his head. "Come and get me!"

Donnie glanced upward, seeing that the liquid was above Raph's head now. "Make this quick, Leo!" he shouted, urgency showing in his voice. He was then tripped by the creature. He fell on his face, letting out a groan as he quickly hopped back up to his feet.

Raph continued to punch the creature, but his punches were growing weaker and weaker. He let out a cry of frustration and realized it was a bad idea, since he got the green liquid in his lungs. His eyes widened as he started to panic.

"Leo!" Donnie shouted, still running in circles. " _Now!_ "

Leo ran forward, dodging the creatures flailing tentacles in the process. He let out a yell and thrust one of his katanas in the creatures side, being careful not to hit Raph. He covered his ears as the thing let out an ear-piercing shriek, and noticed his brothers were doing the same.

The creature shrunk and dissolved into the floor, and Raph tumbled out. He then propped himself on his hands and knees, coughing up the green liquid.

Raph's brothers quickly ran to his side, making sure he was okay.

"You okay, Raph?" Leo asked gently, putting his hand on the back of Raph's shell. He winced as he felt Raph lurch again as he coughed up more of the liquid. "It's gonna be okay," Leo then said, rubbing his brothers' shell.

"Guys," Donnie said, inching toward the exit. "I'll be right back, okay?" He then sped off to his lab, leaving his brothers utterly confused.

"What's he doing?" Leo asked. He stood to his feet, waiting for Donnie to come back.

Mikey watched Raph as he coughed and he truly felt sorry for him. Raph hated his brothers to see him weak, but now, Raph didn't exactly have a choice.

Donnie returned a few seconds later holding an eyedropper. He knelt down by the green liquid and got some into the eyedropper. "I'm going to test this," he explained. "I want to see _exactly_ what this stuff is." He then looked at Raph, who'd finished his coughing fit.

"Are you okay, Raph?" Donnie asked him.

"I'm fine," Raph managed to choke out. He put himself in a sitting position, staring up at Donnie, who had a look of disbelief on his face. "What? I said I was fine!" Raph angrily replied.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Donnie said. "But, I know you're lying to me. Raph, you just coughed up...liquid. I need to check over you, you know."

"No need," Raph replied, his voice raspy. "I told you I'm _fine!_ " He then let out another chunky sounding cough.

" _No_ you're _not_ , Raph." Leo replied, giving Raph a stern look. " _You_ need to listen to Donnie."

Raph sighed with frustration and looked up to see Donnie holding his hand out to help him up. Raph rolled his eyes and eventually let his brother help him stand. "I can walk on my own," he grumbled.

"Seeing how much you're shaking?" Donnie said, putting his arm around Raph's shoulders to support him. "I don't think so."

Donnie led Raph out to the living room, and walked down into the pit. He then glanced at the bench lining the outer area and then looked at Raph. He then pointed to the bench, telling Raph to sit. Raph just gave him an irritated glance, but Donnie pointed again, more sternly this time.

Raph grumbled under his breath as he lowered himself into the uncomfortable seat. He knew he'd start aching after awhile.

Leo and Mikey then entered the room, and Donnie looked at them. "Would you mind watching him?" he asked. "Make sure he doesn't try to do anything."

"Yeah, no problem, Don." Leo replied, going into the pit and sitting on the part on the bench that faced Raph. He was going to watch him carefully and make sure he didn't try to get up.

"Good," Donnie said, heading to his lab to test out the liquid.

Donnie sat down at his work desk and set the eyedropper down. He then rummaged through some drawers until he found a slide and slide cover. There was only one problem- there was only one left. Donnie let out a sigh. One would have to do.

He put a couple drops of the liquid on the small, glass slide and then carefully put the slide cover over it. He then set it under his old microscope and peeked into the lens. Nothing seemed off to him. It just looked like green water from under the microscope. But then a thought occurred to him- what if time effected it?

He set a timer, watching the seconds inch up. He stared at the numbers rising, and got unfocused, as if he was in his own little world. He then snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a faint sizzling sound.

He then gasped as he saw the liquid steaming. "No way..." he whispered, quickly disposing the slide. "It turns acidic..."

Donnie looked over at the timer. It read six minutes and twenty-three seconds. He assumed that the liquid was in the creature for around 4 minutes. He then realized that after around ten minutes, the liquid turned acidic.

Donnie thought things over. It was trying to drown Raph. If the liquid turned acidic over time...

"Oh my..."

He realized that what this thing was planning to do him was first off, to drown him and then get rid of him with the acid liquid. Raph would've been dead if they had kept him in there longer. Donnie shuddered. He had to tell his brothers.

"So you mean to tell me that it tried to drown me then get rid of my remains?"

Donnie stared at Raph with a horrified expression. His face then grew more neutral and he finally answered after awhile. "Yeah..." he said slowly. "I... guess that's one way to put it."

Leo sighed. "It's a good thing we got to you when we did, Raph." He put his hand on his shoulder, but Raph shrugged it off. "You could've died."

"I know I could've died," Raph responded, crossing his arms across his chest. "And I'm glad I _didn't_."

"Well, all I can say is we need to find this thing," Leo said, getting a look of determination on his face. "The sooner we stop that thing, the better."

"Oh, Donnie?" Mikey asked. "What was that green liquid."

"Oh, that?" Donnie muttered, almost forgetting about the liquid. "Well, it wasn't mutagen. And, like I said earlier, it turns acidic after awhile..." He puzzled over the facts and then looked at them with a furrowed brow. "I...I don't really know exactly what it is. But, hopefully soon, we'll find out!"

"Let's find this thing!" Raph them exclaimed.

"Hold on!" Leo said, pushing Raph down in the seat before he could try and stand up. "No one is doing anything right now, _especially_ you!"

"But, Leo!" Raph retorted. "This _**thing**_ is on the loose! What if it comes back?!"

"Then we'll be more prepared next time," Leo simply stated. He then faced his other two brothers. "We need a plan, first off. A good plan." He glanced over at Raph. "We _can't_ just barge in there, fists flying."

"But that's the best thing to do," Raph replied, smirking. "Makin' a nice, big knuckle sandwich."

"No, Raph," Leo sighed. "We need to beat this thing, and the only way to do that is to plot." He then gave Raph a stern glare. "And while we all do that, _you_ will rest."

"Rest?!" Raph exploded. "I've _been_ resting! I can't just sit around and-"

"I'm the leader, Raph. You _will_ follow my orders." Leo then crossed his arms, growing. "And I say that you rest. Okay?"

Raph let out an irritated groan and leaned his head back towards the ceiling.

"Aw, don't worry!" Mikey said, smiling. "I'll be here to entertain you!"

"Oy," Raph sighed, putting his hand over his eyes. "Whoopee."

Everyone then left, leaving Leo with the responsibility of watching Raph. Maybe if Raph pretended he was sleeping, he'd go away...

"Nice try," Leo said. "Pretending to sleep isn't going to work for me, Raph. You're stuck here. Get used to it."

Raph exhaled loudly and draped his arms over the back of the bench. This was going to be a long day..


	4. Chapter 4

The Mistake Ch. 4  
Beasts

It was late in the afternoon, the sun setting on New York, sending yellow and orange tints on the skyscrapers and buildings. Inside the sewers, rats and cockroaches scurried about, probably searching for food.

A rat broke off the pack of other rats and went down another tunnel. A few cockroaches followed behind it. The rat then stood on its haunches, sniffing the air. Smells of mold and trash filled the rats nostrils and it then continued its quest for food.

It then stopped when it saw a glowing blob ahead of it. A few cockroaches scurried up to it and climbed on the blob. The rat slowly went up and sniffed it. Maybe it's food. But not any kind of food it had seen before. The rat then took a step closer.

A few other rats found where the rat was, and went up to the object it was sniffing. They started sniffing too, and, assuming it was food, they all opened their tiny mouths to take a bite of it.

They all then let out a squeak of surprise as the creature started to rise up. It came to its full height, towering over the small creatures. The rats and cockroaches quickly began to run away. But, just before one of the rats could escape, the creature spat some of the liquid at it, and this time, it was blue.

A cockroach got the stuff on it as well, and stopped in its tracks. The rat made a loud shrieking sound is it started to grow, although it wasn't mutating. The rat and the cockroach grew to be the same height as the creature. They stared at each other, surprised by their new height.

The slimy blob then melted away again, leaving the rat and the cockroach to stand there. The rat then stood on its haunches and sniffed the air, just like it had earlier. It smelled something- reptiles; turtles.

The rat ran toward the smell, the cockroach not too far behind. They were going to find these reptiles.

-

"You got any seven's?"

"Go fish, Raph."

Raph peered over the cards fanned out in his hand with a look of unapproval.

"What?" Mikey asked innocently. Everyone knew Mikey's innocence was as fake as a fable, and it sure wasn't fooling Raph now.

"I know you're cheating," Raph said. "Because you're not a very good liar. I know you have sevens." He had an annoyed look on his face, making Mikey sweat nervously.

"Oh yeah? How many?" Mikey teased, raising an eyebrow and smirking. His smirk then disappeared when he saw the deathly glare his older brother was giving him. With a sigh, he handed over all the sevens he had, which was three to be exact.

"Apparently you two don't know how to play Go-Fish,"

Raph and Mikey whirled around to see Donnie, staring at them with an amused expression on his face. Raph let out a short laugh, gesturing over at the cards with his eyes.

"If you mean cheating, then, yeah, you're right." Raph replied. He then glanced over at Mikey with a smirk and added: " _He's_ the one cheating, though."

"Am _not_!"

"You _just_ admitted it, idiot!" Raph put his cards down on the floor and put himself in a criss-cross position. He crossed his arms over his chest and heaved in a sigh of annoyance. "How does that make sense?"

"Anyway, how are you feeling, Raph?" Donnie butted in.

"Great," Raph mumbled, barely paying attention, for he was waiting to see what Mikey would say next.

"Alrighty then," Mikey said, grinning devilishly. He looked down at Raph's cards, which were showing. But Raph didn't seem to notice. "You have any twos?" He then drummed his fingers against each other, like villains would do in a cartoon.

Raph's eyes widened as he realized that he had two cards with the number two on them. He then tried to make his face neutral so he could hide his shock.

"G-go-fish." He unsuccessfully tried to not seem he was fibbing.

"Oh, so _you're_ cheating now too, huh?" Mikey said as he waved his finger at Raph. "Shame on you." He smirked, and even his bright blue eyes seemed to smile.

"Fine, I'll give you two!" Raph said, eyes narrowing in anger. His teeth grinded in rage, and he clenched his fists.

"Two what?"

"Both of my fists!" Raph exploded as he got up, ready to hit Mikey. A wave of dizziness then swept over him, and he swayed slightly as he stood. He raised his fist, but then heard shouting coming from Donnie.

"Woah, woah!" Donnie shouted as he got between the two. He held his arms out, to make sure they couldn't get to each other. "It's just a stupid game! Nothing to fight about!"

"Yeah, well, when _someone_ is cheating all the time, it makes it something to fight about!" Raph snarled, gesturing towards Mikey.

"Hey, you cheated too!" Mikey said, pointing an accusing finger at Raph. " _You_ had your cards down!"

Raph let out a frustrated groan, slapping his palm on his forehead. He then picked up his cards and shoved them back into the box. "I'm done," he murmured, heading back to the seat he'd been sitting in for the past couple hours.

"Aw, c'mon, Raph!" Mikey whined. "We just got started!"

"And of course you had to cheat..." Raph muttered, crossing his leg over the other. "Thanks for trying to help me get over my boredom, but it's really not helping now."

The lights then flickered ahead, leaving all of them to exchange surprised glanced.

"Are you not bored _**now**_?" Mikey asked, looking at Raph with an amused grin. Raph glared at him, and Mikey turned away.

The lights then flickered again, and this time the lights shut off, blanketing them all in darkness. There was no light, and all they could hear was each other's breathing.

"Donnie?" Raph asked, standing up from his seat. "Why isn't the backup kicking in?"

"I...I don't know," Donnie replied. He then heard footsteps and jumped in fear, turning his head left and right, although he couldn't see anything. "Wh-who's there?"

"It's just me, Donnie."

Leo was now here. But, Donnie sensed someone else with him.

"Who's with you?" Donnie asked, curious.

"It's just Master Splinter," Leo answered. "I was telling him all about what happened with the slime thing and all...then, the lights just shut off. Donnie, why-"

"I don't know why the backup isn't working." Donnie blurted out quickly. "I already got asked this question." He then sighed, longing for there to be light so he could see. He then heard someone clear their throat.

"Donatello."

"Yes, Sensei?" Donnie answered as he twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"Do you have a flashlight?"

"Hai, Sensei."

"Would you mind getting it?"

"Hai, Sensei."

Donnie then turned, shuffling his feet and feeling his hand along the wall so he'd know where he was going. After awhile, he took out his bow staff from its strap on his back and slid it in the floor, so he wouldn't trip over things.

After a minute or so, he found his lab. Out of instinct, he reached over and flipped the light switch up, but then soon realized the power was still out. He sighed and felt around for his shelves and drawers. Finally, he felt a flashlight slide past his fingertips and he grabbed it.

He turned it on, casting the LED light around his lab. _Thanks April..._ he thought to himself as he remembered how April O'Neil had given him this flashlight awhile ago. He decided he wasn't going to stumble around trying to find his brothers, so he kept the light on.

"I see you found a flashlight," Leo told him as Donnie ran into the pit. "Will it work for very long?"

"Not sure," Donnie responded. He then grew confused when he noticed Raph was missing. "Hey, uh, where's Raph?"

"Right here."

Donnie shined his light toward where he and his brothers' rooms were and saw Raph walking towards them, an old flashlight in his hand. " _Where'd_ you get that?" Donnie asked.

"Casey." Raph replied, testing the flashlight out. It wasn't as strong as Donnie's, and it cast a yellow light around. "Remember when I brought a broken flashlight to you a few months back? And you fixed it?"

"Well, I guess it came in handy." Donnie replied.

"Okay, guys. Here's the plan." Leo said. "Raph, we'll use your light first. That way, if your light burns out, we'll use Donnie's stronger one."

"Sounds fine to me," Raph mumbled in reply as he watched Donnie turn off his flashlight, leaving the room in a dim, yellow light to be seen. "So, let's go find this thing-"

But when he looked back in Donnie's direction, he was gone. Confusion filled his face and then was relieved to see his purple-banded brother walking back towards them.

" _Gosh_ , Don! Don't scare us like that!" Raph shouted.

"Sorry, sorry." Donnie muttered, looking at the ground. He then looked up at everyone a few seconds later. "I checked the fuse. Looks like we'll have to find out why it's not working now."

"Into the sewers?" Leo asked.

"Into the sewers." Donnie answered. "And, maybe I should lead the way. I know what to look for."

"Alright," Leo answered. "Lead the way." The four brothers began walking towards the exit, but then Leo suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Master Splinter? You're not coming?" Leo looked over his shoulder to see Splinter standing, his hand resting on his cane.

"No, Leonardo, I am not," Splinter replied, still staying in the same position.

"But...why?" Leo asked, turning around so he could see his Sensei's face. Everyone else turned around too to hear Splinter sigh.

"My son, I am getting a very bad feeling this power outage isn't due to natural causes..." Splinter said, stroking his beard as he spoke. "I have a feeling someTHING did this."

"It could've been a rat," Donnie suggested. "It could've chewed through the wire."

"Yes," Splinter replied. "But, something is telling me it's much worse."

"You getting one of those gut feelings, Master Splinter?" Mikey asked.

"I suppose you could say that," Splinter answered, stroking his long beard. "I will stay here at the Lair. If this thing I'm sensing comes, I'll make sure it leaves. That way, you all will not have to deal with it here."

"Okay, Sensei," Leo replied, turning around and following Donnie to the exit. He then stopped and turned his to say: "Be careful, Sensei."

"Same to you, Leonardo." Splinter told him.

Leo put a small smile on his face. He then turned around and stared walking again but heard his Sensei calling him. "Yes, Sensei?" he asked, turning his head so he could see him.

"Protect your brothers." Splinter then said. "Defend them at any cost."

Leo's eyes then widened and narrowed, and he nodded. "I'll do my very best, Sensei." He then got Splinter's nod of approval and turned around again. "Guys!" Leo shouted, running to catch up with his brothers. "Wait for me!"

-

They'd been walking down the tunnel in the sewers for a few minutes and instantly, Mikey noticed something off about Raph. He seemed sort of upset about something. Mikey smiled sadly. This was his specialty. He always tried his best to make his brothers feel better when they were blue.

"Hey Raph!" Mikey said. "What do you call a fish with no eyes?"

Raph let out an irritated sigh, turning his head to see his brother. "I don't know," he mumbled. "What?"

"A fssshh" Mikey said, laughing and smiling wide. His smile then got wider when he got a reaction out of Raph.

"I gotta admit," Raph said, giving Mikey a light punch on the arm. "That was pretty good."

"Wait, huh?" Donnie said, still processing the joke. He then snorted, stopping in his tracks. He laughed and rested his hands on his knee pads. "Ah, I see now!" he chuckled. "Good one. I'm surprised it me that long to figure it out!"

Mikey smirked as he listened to Donnie's laughter. They then began walking again, and Mikey turned to Raph. "Somethin' bugging you, bro?" he asked.

Raph let out another sigh, avoiding Mikey's gaze. "I...I was about to ask Sensei to protect...Spike." He looked at the floor and then decided to look at his brother. "I forgot about his mutation."

"Your pet turtle?" Mikey asked. "Oh yeah... forgot about that." He then paused for a moment and then smiled. "Hey, he's happy on his own! As long as he's happy, that's good, right?"

Raph nodded slowly. "Yeah, guess you're right."

They then stopped again. Raph peeked around Leo's shoulder to see that Donnie had stopped. "What are you stopping for?" Raph asked.

"Oh, we're here." Donnie said. Everyone then gathered around him to view the cords that had been installed into the power center. The long cords had been bitten in half.

"This doesn't look like a rat chewed through these to me," Leo said, examining the cords in the dim light of the flashlight. "It looks like this thing was as hungry as Mikey around pizza."

Everyone looked around to see dim lights lining the walls. Donnie shrugged, turning the flashlight off. He then gave it to Raph. "Keep this for when we leave," Donnie said. "I'll have to go back to the Lair to get some supplies to fix these cords."

"Like this?" Mikey asked, holding out some new cords.

"What?" Donnie said, snatching the cords out of Mikey's hand. "Where'd you find those?"

"Oh, they were just laying around in the Lair." Mikey said, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Hm." Donnie mumbled. "Good thing you...remembered. I would've had to replace these cords completely. These old ones are ruined!"

"By the way, if the powers out, why are these lights on?" Leo asked.

"Ah, these are emergency lights," Donnie pointed out. "Strange. This is an abandoned train station too. Pretty strange they'd keep the lights down here..." He then shrugged again, crouching by the cords.

"I'm going to have to remove this," Donnie said. "Mikey, hand me those new cords when I tell you to." Mikey nodded and Donnie gingery grabbed the cord and tugged at it to make it come out.

An electric pulse then went up his arms and he let out a scream. He dropped the cords, panting. "Y-yikes," he muttered shakily, watching the cords fall to the ground. "Um.. I'm fine... I'm kind of used to getting electrocuted." He then held out his hand and Mikey put the new cords in his hand.

Donnie was about to insert them into the plugs meant for them when the ground started shaking. They heard loud footsteps and loud squeaking in the distance as well.

"What the?!" Raph cried, crouching down so he wouldn't fall from the shaking. "What's going on?!"

"How should I know?!" Donnie yelled back, quickly inserting the cords. "But, we need to see what's doing this."

The four turtles waited in their places, listening to the noises getting closer. They all then gasped when two huge silhouettes came their way. The silhouettes came closer and they all then realized what they were; a huge rat and a just as large cockroach.

"Oh great," Mikey said. "More mutants?"

"I don't think these are mutants, Mikey." Donnie pointed out. "They're just...taller than us."

"Oh great," Raph cried, eyes widening. "C-cockroach!"

"Yeah, and even worse, it's taller than you!" Mikey replied with a snicker, which got him a hit to the head from his hot-headed brother.

Raph growled, grabbing his sais from his belt. "Let's just get this over with," he grumbled. He then looked over the cockroach. "May as well get over my fear..."

Raph, being the strongest, decided to charge first. He let out a battle yell, dashing toward the cockroach first. He jumped up, kicking the cockroach in the gut. The bug let out a squeal and blue liquid came out of its mouth.

Donnie's eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow as he looked at the liquid. "The...liquid." he mumbled to himself. He thought back to Raph coughing up that green liquid. But this was blue. "Does this have to do with...that _thing_?"

The cockroach grabbed Raph with its many tiny legs, and you could tell it was pretty angry. It threw Raph in the air, but before Raph could hit the ground, the rat grabbed him and slammed him onto the floor.

Raph let out pained grunts as his face slammed into the sewer floor. The rat then let out a high pitched squeak and threw Raph across the room. Raph hit into a pipe and then fell to the ground. "On second th-thought, I'm still afraid of them..." Raph grunted.

Leo looked back at Raph who was laying on his plastron. He then looked back at the oversized creatures ahead of him. Before he could react, he heard a shout, and a whizz of green go past him.

"Booyakasha!" Mikey yelled, speeding up toward the rat. The rat squeaked, trying to grab the turtle. Mikey then took out his nunchucks as he ran, spinning them in what he called his "nunchuck fury".

Mikey managed to hit the rat a few times with his nunchucks, causing blue liquid to come out of its mouth, just like it had with the cockroach. The rat then let out an angry squeak, picking Mikey and throwing him across the room. Mikey landed with a grunt next to Raph. Mikey was on his shell, his legs resting on the wall.

"Hey Raph," Mikey said sheepishly.

"Long time no see," Raph grumbled, drumming his fingers on the cement ground. With a grunt, he rose to his feet, watching as Donnie made a move.

Donnie ran forward, whipping out his bō staff in the process. He hit the cockroach in the gut while Leo came in seconds after, hitting the rat. The rat then flicked his tail out, knocking Donnie's feet from under him. Donnie landed on his face, letting out an "Oof!". The rat the pushed his forward with his foot, causing Donnie to roll forward a few feet.

Leo got kicked in the chest, causing him to stumble back. "Donnie, what do we do?!" he shouted, putting a hand on his sore chest.

"How am I suppose to know?!" Donnie shouted back. He then remembered the liquid. "Wait. Wait, yes I do!"

"What? What do we do?" Raph asked as he and Mikey walked towards their brothers. Surprisingly, he still had the flashlight.

"See that liquid?" Donnie asked, pointing to it.

"Yeah, so?" Leo couldn't help but ask.

"So, this is probably linked to that creature that attacked Raph earlier!" Donnie replied.

Raph shuddered at the thought. "Oh yeah," he mumbled.

"I also noticed that the more liquid that comes out of their mouth, the more they shrink." Donnie explained.

"So, we need to try and get all this liquid out of them?" Leo asked. He then saw Donnie nod, and he glanced up at the beasts before him. "Okay, guys," Leo said. "Give 'em all you've got!"

Raph cracked his knuckles and smirked. "With pleasure." he said, taking out his sais. He then let out a yell, dashing towards the cockroach again. He leaned his head down, and his brothers immediately knew what he was going to do. He rammed his shoulder into the roach, causing it to let out a loud squeak of shock. A lot of liquid came out of its mouth, and it noticeably shrunk about a foot or so.

"Whoo! Go Raph!" Donnie cheered, rubbing up to the rat. The rat tried to grab him, but Donnie dodged and jumped near the rats face. He then brought his foot out, kicking it. More and more liquid came out and the creatures shrank more and more.

"Almost there," Leo huffed after having fought the beasts for awhile. "Just a little longer..."

The rat grabbed Raph again as he ran towards it. "Not again!" Raph shouted as it shook his up and down. The rat the tossed him to the ground strongly, causing Raph to drop his flashlight. The flashlight went rolling over by the pipes and, right as it hit the pipe, the light decided to die. "Sewer apples." Raph grunted, pushing himself onto his knees.

Donnie got smacked in the face when he tried to attack. "Ouch!" he cried, putting his hand over his eye. "Not cool!" He did a backflip, hitting the rat in the face in the meantime.

All four turtles fought a good few minutes before the animals were back to their normal height. They stared up at the turtles, clearly afraid of them. They then scurried off, leaving the turtles behind.

"That wasn't too hard," Mikey said, smirking. "We did it, bros!"

"Sure did!" Leo said, sounding proud. He put his hands on his hips, looking like his hero, Captain Ryan, although no one could see it, due to the dimness of the room.

"You still have your flashlight, Raph?" Donnie asked.

"No," Raph replied. "Lost it during the fight. It died anyways, so it wouldn't of done us much good."

"Well, that's what a spare is for," Donnie said, pulling his flashlight out of his belt. He then turned it on, and a shocked expression came about in his face. "Geez, guys. You took some punches."

"We've all been through worse." Raph said with a shrug. Donnie shrugged too, and looked over each of his brothers.

Leo had some scrapes, and well as a cut of forehead from getting hit, as well as bruises.

Mikey had a huge bruise forming on his cheek, and scratches like Leo.

Raph had a busted lip, but, he didn't really seem to notice. Donnie looked at the bruises on his arms and face and gave him a look of disapproval. "What?" Raph asked. "Someone's gotta take the heavy poundings!" He shrugged. "Not that bad, anyway. Just a busted lip."

Donnie sighed, shining his light on the ground. "How am I looking, fellas?" he asked.

Leo took the flashlight from him, scanning him over. "Yikes." he mumbled. Donnie was starting to get a black eye and had some more bruises and scrapes.

"Hey, it's not that bad," Donnie said. "Imagine what we'd all look like if that was the Shredder instead of some over-sized animals."

Everyone shuddered. They'd all look horrible, probably barely make it out alive.

"Well, turtles," Leo said. "We should head home."

"Hang on!" Donnie shouted. He squatted down, getting a sample of the liquid. "I want to compare the green liquid and this one!"

Everyone nodded in agreement although they were a little nervous as they made their way back to the Lair. Splinter wasn't going to be happy.


	5. Chapter 5

The Mistake Ch. 5  
It Returns

Everyone trudged back to the Lair slowly, for they were not looking forward to their Sensei scolding them. But, maybe if they explained things, it wouldn't be so bad.

They arrived at the Lair a few minutes later and paused at the entrance. Leo peeked inside to see his father sitting in the same spot he was before, meditating.

"Alright, guys," Leo whispered, facing his brothers and getting back behind the wall. "I'll go in first and explain to Splinter what happened, okay? You all stay here."

"Whatever you say, boss." Raph mumbled. Leo rolled his eyes and then turned around and started walking inside. He tried to stay quiet so he wouldn't disturb Splinter's meditation, but it didn't work so well. Splinter opened one eye, seeing Leo attempting to be stealthy.

"Ah, Leonardo." Splinter said calmly. "Good to see you home."

Leo jumped, surprised by the sudden voice. He then turned, pretending he was going to the kitchen so his Sensei wouldn't have to see his face. "Y-yeah! I'm back, Sensei!"

Splinter raised and eyebrow. "Oh? And where are your brothers?"

Leo then sighed and decided to turn around. The sooner he got the truth out, the better. He gestured to the wall with his head. "Come out guys," he mumbled in defeat. "Your cover is blown."

The three brothers stepped out from behind the wall sheepishly, keeping their heads down so that their Sensei couldn't look at their faces. Donnie glanced up at Leo, who was still hiding out in the kitchen. "May as well tell him, Leo," Donnie pointed out. "We can't just hide it."

"Hide what?" Splinter asked, an unamused look on his face. He stroked his beard like he usually did, staring down Donatello, searching to see if he was lying. But, Donnie still wasn't showing his face.

Donnie obviously wasn't going to let the cat out of the bag, so Raph decided to. He let out a sigh, looking up at Splinter with defeat. Splinter raised an eyebrow when he saw Raph's busted lip, but didn't say anything about it.

"You know that "gut feeling" you had earlier?" Raph started out, avoiding his fathers' gaze. "Yeah... we kind of...found it."

"And what was this... 'gut feeling?'" Splinter asked slowly.

"You'll never believe it, Sensei!" Donnie exclaimed, finally looking up. "It was...a _huge_ rat, and a just as large cockroach! They...they were _humongous_! They were much larger than us for sure!"

"Mutants?" Splinter asked.

"Huh? Oh, no, Sensei. These weren't mutants. They still had qualities of animals," Donnie explained as he made hand gestures to prove his point. "Like...like they could walk like those creatures normally would, and they acted the same as well! They were just...oversized. Oh! And I got a sample of something that was coming out of their mouths!" Donnie then held up the small vial, showing Splinter, even though he was several feet away from him.

"Liquid?" Splinter asked, gesturing for them all to sit on the bench in the Pit. "You said it came out of them, Donatello?"

"Donnie's right, Sensei," Leo said as he and his brothers slowly made their way over to the bench and sat. "Every time we'd hit them, blue liquid would come out of their mouths."

"And don't forget, they'd shrink after the liquid came out of them." Donnie pointed out.

"Interesting..." Splinter mumbled, looking over Leo's injuries. "Do you have an idea of what caused this, Donatello?"

"I think so, Sensei." Donnie replied, trying to get up out of his seat. "I just need to test this liquid and see-" But Splinter put his cane out, stopping Donnie before he could stand up.

"You may test your sample **_after_** I check you over." Splinter said sternly.

"But, Sensei! I'm fine! Really! I-"

"Donatello!"

Donnie sighed, looking down in defeat. "Hai, Sensei."

Splinter then gave Leo a nod of approval after he checked him over and moved to Raph, who was next to Leo.

"I'm fine, Sensei." Raph said. "Really, I've been through worse before! You don't need to-"

"Hush, Raphael." Splinter interrupted.

"I'm fine! I swear!"

Splinter gave Raph a disapproving glare which made Raph grow nervous. "Raphael, I understand that your injuries are indeed not serious and I guarantee they will heal quickly."

"Then, why-"

"Because, my son, it is better to be safe than sorry." Splinter replied. "My son, you use your strength for many things. You use it for good, but, sometimes, you can become overconfident with it." Splinter checked over Raph's busted lip before continuing.

"You use it for good when you protect yourself, your family, and your friends. But, Raphael, you get too overconfident with your power. It is all in your head. You must not assume you are stronger than your opponent, for they could end up outmatching you." He then raised an eyebrow, making Raph look at him. "Do you understand, Raphael?"

"Hai, Sensei." Raph mumbled as he bowed his head.

"Good." Splinter said. He then moved on to look at Donatello. He was worried about his black eye, and told him to keep ice on it. As for Mikey, his injuries weren't serious, just like Raph's and Leo's. Donnie immediately went to his lab afterward to test the mystery liquid.

He rummaged through his drawers, searching for a slide to put the liquid on. His stomach dropped when he dug through his drawers and felt not even one slide or slide cover hiding in there.

"Guys?" Donnie called, walking out of his lab.

"Huh?" Leo asked. "What is it, Donnie?" His face grew concerned then. "Is something wrong?"

"Sort of..." Donnie said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I...um sort of don't have any more...slides."

"You...don't have anymore?" Raph asked, his voice growing harsher and harsher. " ** _How_** are we suppose to find out what it is **_now_**?!"

"Relax, Raph." Donnie replied, getting his T-Phone out from his belt. "I bet April has some!"

"Oh, you bet your **_girlfriend_** has some?" Raph emphasized.

Donnie face palmed himself, letting out a frustrated sigh. "She's _not_ my girlfriend! I...I just want to see if she has what I'm needing."

"Go ahead, Donatello." Splinter said. "I will be in my room if you boys need me."

Everyone nodded and then turned to Donnie, who was starting to dial. He clicked one button and then waited as it rang. Raph and Leo then exchanged quizzical glances.

"Does he have her on speed dial or something?" Raph asked, a slightly disgusted tone in his voice.

"Wouldn't be surprised if he did." Leo replied.

Donnie waited for a few more rings, tapping his foot on the ground. He then heard April on the other end.

"Donnie?"

"O-oh! H-hey, April!" Donnie shuddered sheepishly, trying to act cool in the process. "How...um...how's it going?"

"Good, I guess." April said with a sigh. "What did you call me for, Donnie? You guys usually call me when you need help with something."

"Well I, uh...actually _do_ need help with something," Donnie replied. "N-nothing _too_ important-"

"What is it?"

"Oh, well, you...you see, I uh, kind of ran out of slides and slide covers. I need some more so I can test a sample of something." Donnie chuckled nervously. "Stupid me forgot to find more at the dump..."

"Well...how many do you need?" April asked. "I still have my old science kit from when I was younger so..."

"Oh, uh, about a few will do." Donnie answered after a few seconds of thinking. "About three or four will last me a little while...I hope."

"Okay. Listen, Donnie, you can't come right now. First off it's-"

"Daytime, I know. We don't go out during the day."

"Yes...that. _And_ I am kind of studying for a test tomorrow, and my aunt is home, and she strictly told me to stay in my room to study." April paused for a few seconds. "Plus, she'd probably get a little freaked out if she saw a mutant turtle standing on my fire escape...just sayin'."

"I know, I get it." Donnie replied with a sigh. "What time should I, um, be over there?" Donnie slid his palm down his face and rolled his eyes. He really had to quit with all the 'um's and 'uh's.

"I think tonight after I "go to bed" would work best." April replied. "That way, it's dark out and my aunt won't bother me."

"A-alright." Donnie said. "See you tonight then, April." A goofy grin appeared on his face, revealing his gap tooth, although April wasn't there to see it.

"Yep. See you tonight."

She then hung up, leaving Donnie to listen to the phone buzz. "I'm going on a date!" he whispered.

"Wouldn't exactly call it a date," Raph answered with a roll of his eyes. "Dates usually don't have brothers as chaperons."

"Brothers as...hey! You guys aren't coming with me!" Donnie yelled. "I just need to get some supplies! It'll only be a minute!"

"Yeah, and when you get with April, you tend to talk a lot. A minute ends up turning into a hour." Leo said with a snicker.

A blank expression crossed Donnie's face. "I guess I...do talk a lot, huh?" he asked, his voice trailing off.

"Duh!" Mikey answered as he propped his legs up on a stool. "You start talking about your nerd stuff."

Donnie sighed. Great. He really wouldn't get to talk to April much now.

-

"Guys! April texted me!"

" _April_ texted _you_? What a shock, Donnie!" Raph answered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I would've never imagined that!"

"She said we could come over." Donnie said, ignoring Raph's comment.

"I like how she automatically figured out its 'we' and not 'you'." Raph commented with a snicker.

"Would you just zip it?!" Donnie retorted. "Let's all just go."

"Since when were you the leader, Donnie?" Leo added, just to tease his brother. He then backed away when Donnie shot him an angry glare. "Ok...time to go."

They all then heading to the exit, careful not to tick off Donnie. They reached topside and immediately climbed up the fire escape to the roofs. They then jumped from roof to roof, watching for Footbots but still being silent the whole time.

After a few minutes, they reached April's apartment. Donnie stepped forward, knocking his fist softly of her window. "Don't embarrass me." Donnie hissed, glancing back at his brothers.

"More like don't embarrass yourself." Raph said.

Donnie rolled his eyes and then watched as the latch turned and the window opened. April stood there in her pajamas, holding a bag with four slides and slide covers in it.

"Is this what you wanted?" she asked, holding out the bag.

"Yep! Exactly what I needed." Donnie said. He smiled and took the bag, examining the slides to make sure they weren't damaged. Donnie then felt a jab in his ribs and turned to see Leo mouth 'let's go.'

Donnie let out a sigh and then turned back to April. "You have a good night, April. A-and good luck on your test!"

"Thanks. Gonna need it." April replied with a tired smile. "Night, guys." She then closed the window and the turtles went back up to the roofs.

"Glad we got you to stop when you did," Raph said. "Looks like you'd be talking forever and ever and-"

"Stop." Leo commanded. "Enough comments, Raph."

"What? I can't play around?"

"No, Raph, you can not. It's leading to bullying now. Now stop."

Raph let out a groan and then followed his brothers as they ran back home.

-

"You should keep ice on that," Mikey said, pointing out Donnie's eye. "Master Splinter said-"

"I know what Master Splinter said." Donnie said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "I'm...gonna test this now." He then went off to his lab to test the liquid. He dropped a couple drops on the slide, carefully placed the slide cover on and then looked into the microscope.

"Interesting..." Donnie mumbled as he stared at the liquid. It seemed like it belonged to the same slime creature. So he had bad news to tell; the creature was still out there.

Donnie immediately went back out to the Pit to tell his brothers. "That thing is still out there," Donnie concluded as he walked up to his brothers.

"What?!" Raph yelled as he stood to his feet. "I _swear_ Donnie, if anyone else gets hurt by that thing I'll-"

"It's okay, Raph. We'll catch that thing." Donnie assured him. "And we'll catch him soon."

Raph walked up to his brother, staring at him in the eyes. Raph's angry green eyes locked with Donnie's concerned red ones and it stayed that way for a few seconds. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Donnie." Raph growled. "One of us is gonna end up gettin' hurt by that thing, I know it! Don't you _dare_ tell me that we will catch it soon, because by the time we do it won't be soon enough!"

Donnie's eyes grew wide and he swallowed nervously. "I...I know...We'll have to do the best we can do."

"Me almost drowning?!" Raph said, backing up. "You, and my brothers, standing there?! Was _that_ the best you could do?"

"Raph-"

" _Enough_ , Raph!" Leo yelled, stepping in between him and Donnie. "Donnie did _nothing_! We are ALL trying to keep that thing away!" He then looked Raph dead in the eye. "And if we **_would've_** stood there and watched, you wouldn't even be here right now."

Raph's eyes narrowed and then widened. He looked down, clearly ashamed. "Sorry..." he mumbled. "I-"

"It's fine, Raph." Donnie replied. "We're all a little frustrated over this-I know. But, we all need to work together for this. If we don't, we have a lesser chance at beating this thing."

"Donnie's right," Leo said. "We all need to stick together. No turtle left behind."

"Oh yeah!" Mikey yelled happily. "I bet we can beat this thing!"

"And I'm sure you're right, Mikey." Leo replied with a smile. "But, we don't know where it is. So, I suppose we'll just have to wait it out."

It had been a few hours since the turtles gave this little speech. They all stayed together in one area, so that someone wouldn't be alone and get attacked. Everyone stayed in the Pit, waiting. Every noise made them tense and part of them just wished that creature would just show up already.

Mikey had been trying for awhile to come up with a name for the thing. But, he was having some trouble.

"Ooh! Slimeball!"

"Nah... Doesn't suit him, Mikey. Well, I don't think, anyway."

"Eh.." Mikey moaned, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees. "I guess he won't have a name."

"Well," Donnie said. "That things' too evil to deserve a name."

A small smile appeared on Mikey's face from Donnie's comment. His smile then quickly disappeared when he saw a faint, yellow glowing from the corner of his eye.

"It's back..." Leo whispered, his full attention on the glowing. "Get ready, ninjas."

Everyone took out their weapons, preparing to battle the slimy creature again. They sat there and waited for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the thing to show up.

"Where is it?" Raph asked, clearly growing impatient. "I wanna show this thing a piece of my mind."

"It'll come, Raph." Donnie said. He looked around, staying alert and cautious. "But, at the same time, I'm not looking forward to it coming..."

"I hope no one gets hurt..." Mikey mumbled, waiting.

"No one will," Donnie assured him, glancing at Mikey with a smile. "I promise. We'll all stick together."

A small smile appeared on Mikey's face, and Donnie knew that he had made his little brother feel better.

The glowing then grew brighter and the turtles knew that the creature had shown up. They all stood their ground, prepared for any attack. But nothing came.

"I thought it was here...where-" Leo was then interrupted when the creature shot out of the glowing area, heading straight towards them. Everyone stepped out of the way just in time, and the creature skidded to a stop, knowing that it had been fooled.

"Guys!" Leo shouted for everyone to hear. "Here's our plan! We need to surround it on all sides! Got it?"

The three other brothers nodded to Leo's order. All of their eyes then turned white; they were in their stealth mode.

They went up to the creature and surrounded it. Leo went in the front, Donnie on the right, Raph in the back and Mikey on the left. They all waited for the creature to attack. It let out a loud screech, warning them to stay away.

"If it tries to attack, everyone come to where I am." Leo said, trying to keep his voice low.

The thing let out another screech, and it lunged itself towards them again. Everyone stepped out of the way, and the thing skidded to a stop. It then turned around and headed back towards them.

Everyone came to where Leo was, preparing for the attack. They all then jumped at it, and Leo's sword ended up cutting the creature.

Leo stopped in his tracks and turned just as the creature stopped. Leo then gasped as he noticed that the wound was closing up. "Do you see that?!" Leo wondered.

"Yeah," Donnie replied. "It can fuse together its wounds... This isn't good!"

The creature then stood there, perfectly still. The turtles cocked their heads in confusion. What was it doing? Their eyes then widened when they saw it make its tentacle arms. Instead of making two, it made four. But that didn't surprise the turtles; what surprised them was that one of the arms was growing sharper at the end, and a orange colored liquid was filling up inside the arm.

"What is that?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know." Donnie replied with a nervous gulp. "But I'm kind of scared to find out!"

"Okay, everyone." Leo said, looking at his brothers. "Stay away from that orange arm. I don't like the looks of it." He then motioned for everyone to come to him.

The turtles were now standing together, side by side. "Donnie, Mikey. You two are on the end, so you guys attack first. Right after you two, Raph and I will follow."

Everyone nodded and prepared their move. Donnie and Mikey then charged forward together and attacked. They dodged the flying tentacles coming at them, and managed to kick it a few times. Raph and Leo then went up next.

Raph jumped as high as he could and did a side kick. The creature let out a screech as Raph landed on the ground. The creature then saw him. It remembered Raphael; he was unfinished prey. Well, it would just have to fix that.

Leo jumped up next, punching the creature. The creature then shot it's orange arm at Raph, who wasn't focused on the arm.

"Raph!" Leo screamed. "Look out!"

Before Raph could cut the arm out of the way, Leo jumped in front of him. The sharp point of the tentacle went through Leo's arm. Leo let out a cry of pain as his knees buckled under him. He fell to the ground on his side, curling himself in a ball and gritting his teeth.

"Leo!" everyone screamed as they tried to rush to him.

The creature tried to get them with the poison it gave Leo, but it found out it had no more. The thing let out a low growl that all the turtles could hear.

"I don't think that things' too happy." Donnie pointed out.

"I don't _care_ if he's unhappy, Captain Obvious." Raph huffed, turning to the beast before him. "I'm gonna finish off this thing."

Raph charged forward, ready to head-butt the thing. But, the creature wrapped its arm around Raph's neck before he could get to it and lifted him off the ground, right up to where its face would be-if it had a face, that is.

Dangling in the air, Raph grew scared. He heard a metallic clang as his sais slipped out of his fingers and fell the almost eight foot drop below.

"Raph!" Mikey yelled. He wanted to help him, he really did. He then frowned when he saw Raph struggling to shake his head at him. "Y...you don't want me to help?"

"No," Donnie said. "I think he's doing something." Donnie squinted, and he could see Raph's hand slowly inching to a spot on his belt where a hidden knife was.

Donnie then glanced back at Leo, who was still curled up in a ball on the floor. He'd hiss through his gritted teeth and let out groans, showing he was in extreme pain. "I wish I could help..." Donnie whispered. He then looked back up at Raph.

Raph couldn't breathe, and he could feel the creatures' arm tightening around his throat. His lungs were burning, desperately trying to get oxygen. He was almost there...he almost had the knife.

Finally, after many excruciating seconds, his hand grasped the small knife. Then, with one swift moment, he brought the knife up and cut through the arm.

The creature let out a screech, higher than any screech the turtles had heard. Donnie and Miley covered their ears, letting out screams of their own.

As the creature shrieked, Raph fell the almost eight foot drop to the ground. He landed on the back of his shell, staring at the ceiling, panting. He took in large gulps of air and could hear footsteps coming towards him and people calling his name.

"Raph?"

Raph glanced up with his blood-shot eyes. He saw Donnie and Mikey, staring down at him with concerned faces. They helped him into a sitting position.

"D...d-don't worry about...m-" Raph was then silenced by Donnie.

"Don't talk, Raph." Donnie instructed. "I can tell it hurts you to speak." He then paused. "You don't want me to help you?"

Raph shook his head and gestured towards Leo.

"Okay..." Donnie muttered, his voice trailing off. "I'll go help him if that's what you want. Mikey, watch over Raph." Donnie was then stopped in his tracks when he heard another shriek come from the creature. He sure hoped it wouldn't attack again.

" _How_ do we stop this thing?!" Donnie then shouted.

"Oooh! Oooh! Try water!" Mikey said, raising his hand as if he were in school. "It _always_ works in the comics!"

Donnie let out a sigh a ran to the kitchen as fast as his legs could carry him. "Better to try this than nothing at all."

He quickly grabbed a bucket and filled it to the brim with water from the sink. He then dashed back out to the Pit, being careful not to spill any of the water. He and Mikey then grabbed the bucket together, ready to throw it on the creature.

"1...2...3!"

They both then threw the water on the creature, hoping it would have some sort of effect. But it didn't. The creature turned blue with anger and let out an angry screech.

"What's going on in here?!"

The then creature bolted towards the turnstiles at the exit when he heard another voice. "Mikey!" Donnie shouted. "You're the fastest! Quick! Catch it!"

Mikey nodded and quickly ran after the thing. He then stopped, knowing he'd never catch up. He saw the thing crawl up the later and break open the manhole. He was topside.

"No..." Mikey whispered. He then turned and ran back into the Lair. He then saw Master Splinter standing near his bedroom door, his hand resting on his cane.

"What is going on here?" he repeated.

"Oh, well, y-you know-" Donnie tried to explain. He then saw Splinter walk into the Pit and saw a look of fear cross his eyes.

"What has happened?!" Splinter demanded.

"That thing came back, Master Splinter." Donnie explained. "It poisoned Leo and tried to strangle Raph...well, it did strangle him but-"

Master Splinter walked over to Raph first to check his throat. "Raphael?" he asked as he knelt down to look at him.

"Do-don't worry...about-" Raph felt a finger touch his lips and knew Splinter was making him be silent.

"I can tell it hurts you to speak, my son." Splinter told him, taking his finger off of his lips. "I suggest you stay silent."

Raph nodded and then looked over at Leo. Splinter understood what he meant and walked over to his oldest son. Leo looked awful. His face was pale from the pain he was going through and he was still curled up in a tight ball.

"Leonardo..." Splinter sighed as he watched his son. "I'm so sorry."

"D-don't be." Leo croaked out. He then winced and shut his eyes tight. "I'd do anything for m-my brothers..."

"I know you would." Splinter said, putting a paw on Leo's shoulder. "I know." He then picked Leo up and placed him on the bench surrounding the Pit to rest.

"I have...bad news." Mikey said awkwardly. "That thing...its topside!"

"It **_what_** Mikey?!" Donnie shouted. " ** _You_** let that thing go **_topside_**?!"

"I **_tried_** to catch it!" Mikey hollered back. "I-"

" _Enough_!"

Mikey and Donnie fell silent. They looked over to Master Splinter after his outburst.

"You all must catch this thing after Leonardo and Raph-"

Raph shook his head. He was fine, besides his throat burning and him not being able to speak.

"After **_Leonardo_** heals." Splinter corrected himself. "Be patient, my sons. You all must work together for this."

"Hai, Sensei." Donnie replied with a bow. Splinter then walked off to continue meditating, leaving the brothers to take care of each other. Donnie then grew scared when he saw the look Raph was giving him. Raph walked over to him, staring at him in the eyes.

"You promised..." Raph said, his voice raspy and raw. " ** _You_** said no one would get hurt!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I...I didn't know!" Donnie shouted back.

"And you said we'd catch that thing. Soon." Raph continued, his voice growing louder and louder till he was shouting. "But it's still out there! And, even worse! **IT'S IN NEW YORK**!"

"What did you expect me to say?! Huh?!" Donnie was growing very angry with his brother. "How was I suppose to know that no one would get hurt?!"

Raph tried to tell back but realized he couldn't. His throat hurt even worse now; in fact, it just hurt to something as simple as swallowing. Raph let out a cry of frustration and stormed into the kitchen. He grabbed a pad of paper and an old pen and scribbled something down.

He then shoved the piece of paper roughly into Donnie's hands and stormed off into his room.

"Wait! He can't be alone!" Mikey whimpered. "What if it comes back?"

Donnie sighed and then looked down at the paper. He grew saddened at what he read:

 _Then I guess you shouldn't have made that promise..._


	6. Chapter 6

The Mistake Ch. 6  
All These Problems

"Master Splinter...?"

Splinter opened his eyes from his meditation when he heard Donnie enter the room. He let out a soft sigh, not turning his head towards his son. "Yes, Donatello?" Splinter asked.

"Raph...he's mad at me." Donnie replied slowly. "He...well, I made a promise to Mikey...that no one would get hurt to help him feel better." Donnie then gulped and shifted his weight uncomfortably. "But...that's not the case. Leo and Raph both got hurt."

Splinter stood to his feet and walked over to the purple banded turtle. He put a paw on his shoulder, looking at him in the eyes. "I will have to have a talk with Raphael." Splinter said calmly. He walked past Donnie and headed to Raph's room.

"Just...don't be too harsh, okay?" Donnie asked quietly, following his father out.

Splinter looked back at his son with a small, sad smile on his face. "Oh, I won't." Splinter assured him, keeping his voice calm. "Though, I do have a story to tell him."

Donnie returned the small smile and then nodded. "I think he should hear it." he said. He then watched Splinter walk up to where their rooms were. Donnie let out a sigh and walked over to the Pit, where Mikey was sitting next to Leo, watching over him. Mikey pulled up a blanket to Leo's chin, making sure he was warm from where he was laying.

Leo was asleep on the bench, and it seemed that he had been for quite awhile now.

"How's he doing?" Donnie whispered softly, sitting next to Mikey.

"Okay, I guess." Mikey replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "He fell asleep."

Donnie watched the slow rise and fall of Leo's chest. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that his brother was still alive and breathing.

"Donnie...?" Mikey then asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah?" Donnie mumbled.

"Do you think Leo will be okay?"

Donnie looked down at the ground as he leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees. "I...I don't know, Mikey." Donnie replied quietly. "Only time will tell..." He then glanced up to see Splinter knocking on Raph's door.

"Raphael." Splinter said. "Would you allow me to come in?" He got no answer, but he wasn't expecting one. He turned Raph's doorknob, and, surprisingly, the door opened. Splinter thought his door would be locked.

He walked in to see Raph laying on the back of his shell, mindlessly staring at his ceiling above. His hands rested on his chest and his feet were rested on his blankets. He heard his father walk in and he lifted his head up slightly, only to bring it back down in his pillow again.

"Raphael, may I speak with you?" Splinter asked as he stood near Raph's doorframe. Raph sighed. He knew there was no point in objecting, so he nodded, allowing his father to sit on the side of his bed. Raph scooted himself up so that he was siting next to Splinter. He brought one leg up to his chest, leaving the other touching the floor. He draped his arm over his knee and then looked up, prepared to listen.

"My son, I want to tell you a story." Master Splinter said as soon as he knew Raph was paying attention.

Raph let out a frustrated groan and rested his head on his knee. Not another one of Sensei's stories. Raph heard these all the time. The last thing he wanted was to hear yet another one. Raph put his hand on the notebook and pen that laid on his bedside table. He'd put it there, just in case he'd have to talk to someone. He knew Splinter would want his son to respond.

Splinter didn't wait for his son's approval on his story, and he started it anyway.

"This story takes place long ago- a time when I was still human." Splinter began, looking down at his son. "The Shredder- or, Oroku Saki and I were close friends."

Raph looked up at his father, his eyes widening slightly. He still didn't understand how his Sensei and his mortal enemy could've ever been friends.

"He was good then. That was before the love of a women came between us. We would talk often, and when we talked, we'd talk about our futures. We'd talk about marriage, families, growing old together as friends. And, as you know, when I married Tang Shen, he grew very jealous.

"We'd tell each other we'd always be great friends. But, as you know, that promise didn't stay..."

Raph wrote a message down on the paper he now had and and showed it to his father.

 _But you and the Shredder are enemies now! How could you tell each other you'd be best friends?_

Splinter let out a soft sigh and placed his hand on his forehead. "My son," he said softly. "We told each other this because we didn't know what the future would hold. There was no way of knowing."

Raph then felt his Sensei put a hand on his shoulder, which made him look up.

"This is how Donatello is feeling, Raphael. There was no way of knowing that you and Leonardo would get injured because of this creature. He only said nothing would happen to make everyone feel better."

Raph sighed and stared down at his paper again, clearly ashamed. He scribbled something down again.

 _Wow... I must've been pretty stupid..._

"You were not stupid, my son." Splinter replied. "I understand how you could've been angry. But, you must not blame Donatello for not knowing."

Raph nodded. He understood. He saw a small smile appear on Splinter's face. The two then stood up together and walked out into the Pit where Leo, Donnie and Mikey still were.

"Good to see you back out, Raph." Donnie said, a tiny grin appearing on his face. Raph sat down on the long bench and Donnie went into the kitchen. Raph looked behind him, wondering why his younger brother was going into the kitchen. He wished he could ask him what he was doing.

Donnie came back a few seconds later, holding an ice pack in his hand. He tossed it towards Raph, who caught it in midair.

"That's for your throat." Donnie explained. "It'll help relieve the burning a bit." Donnie then raised an eyebrow when he saw Raph writing again but quickly understood when he saw his older brother gesturing for him to come. He looked down at the note Raph had written.

 _How's Leo doin'?_

"Oh, Leo? Fine, I guess." Donnie replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Mikey said he fell asleep a little while ago. I guess all we have to do now is wait for him to wake-" He then jumped when he felt his T-Phone buzz, signaling that he received a text.

He took the phone out from his belt and looked at the screen. Instantly, a smile crossed his face.

"Why so happy?" Mikey asked.

"April's on her way!" Donnie exclaimed, his smile growing wider. "And she said she could spend the night!"

"Awesome!" Mikey cheered. "I can show her the newest addition to my action figure collection!"

Raph cleared his throat, showing a new message.

 _APRIL?! SINCE WHEN, DONNIE?_

"Oh? I guess I forgot to mention that..." Donnie mumbled sheepishly. "See, when Sensei was checking us over after we fought those huge animals, I asked April if she wanted to hang out in the morning." He then glanced over at the clock. "Geez! We've been up awhile... Let's see, we visited April around 11:00 pm...we waited for that creature till about 6:30 am... umm..."

Mikey and Raph were barely listening as Donnie calculated the amount of hours of sleep they missed. They both had to admit though, they were pretty tired, and they were just starting to feel the effects.

"Gosh, guys!" Donnie groaned, finally figuring out the time, which was 7:30 am. "We've been up for 8 hours...including the time we got up yesterday so that would be...Heck, let's just say we've been up a very long time."

"So when's she coming?" Mikey asked, sitting up straight in his seat, obviously excited.

"In about an hour or so." Donnie said, letting out a yawn. "Geez...I need some coffee...but we're out."

"Bummer..." Raph mumbled, his raw voice making Donnie jump with surprise.

"You need to stop talking, Raph!" Donnie scolded him as he shot his brother a glare.

Raph rolled his eyes and laid his head back. "W-whatever."

Donnie continued to glare at his older brother for another few seconds until he sat down and let out a sigh. "I...I guess we'll just have to wait for April to...show up." he mumbled groggily.

-

Donnie jerked awake when he felt his phone vibrate. Apparently he's fallen asleep because the clock now read 8:26 am. He leaned forward in his seat and looked around at his brothers, who were asleep.

Donnie then checked his T-Phone to see that he got a text from April:

 _Might be running a few minutes late! Sorry about that!_

Donnie let out a sigh and set his phone next to him, way too tired to reply to the message. He decided he'd wake his brothers up so he could tell them April would be here soon.

Donnie checked on Mikey first, who was curled up in a ball, sleeping soundly.

"We can do it, Ice Cream Kitty..." Mikey mumbled in his sleep. "I know we can win the breakdancing competition..."

"Mikey, wake up." Donnie muttered as he shook Mikey's shoulder.

"Squirrelenoids?!" Mikey shouted, turning his head from side to side. "Why are you here? You can't break dance..."

"Mikey! Enough! It's just me, Donnie!"

Eventually, Mikey opened his eyes to see his brother standing above him. "Oh." Mikey mumbled. "Dang it! I wanted to win that $10,000 prize!"

Donnie let himself smile and then went over to Raph to wake him up. He was about to shake Raph's shoulder until Raph put his hand out, making Donnie stop.

"I-I'm already awake..." Raph said hoarsely. "I got...no sleep."

"Quit talking, Raph." Donnie sighed. "Anyways, April will be here soon."

Raph put himself into a regular sitting position and picked up his ice pack, which had now melted. He rubbed his temples as he sat waiting for April to show up. He hadn't gotten any sleep. Guilt and fear for his brother kept him awake.

Raph pushed himself up and walked into the kitchen to get himself another ice pack. He couldn't help but smirk as Ice Cream Kitty greeted him when he open the freezer. He grabbed an ice pack, shut the door and made his way back to his seat.

Donnie sat with his head rested in his palm, watching Raph come sit back down. "The last one melted?" he asked drowsily. He saw Raph nod and sit back down.

The turtles sat there waiting for another ten minutes or so, and then they heard footsteps and a voice calling their names.

"Guys?" April called, walking into the Lair and setting her bag down. "Anyone here?"

"Oh! Yeah, we're here, April!" Donnie said apologetically as he walked up to greet her. "Glad you're here!"

"Um...Donnie?" April asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked him over.

"Yeah?"

"I...I forgot to ask when you came by to get those slides and slide covers but...how'd you get that black eye?"

"Oh, this?" Donnie questioned. He waved it off. "Pssh.. That's nothing!"

April then peeked past his shoulder and saw everyone else in the Pit.

"What...what happened?" she whispered in shock. She walked down into the Pit with Donnie following close behind.

"W-well...uhh...you...you see...its kind of a long story." Donnie said awkwardly.

"Long story huh?" April asked as she put her hands on her hips. "I'm going to be here all day. I have time."

Donnie then sighed, knowing there was no arguing with April O'Neil. He told her everything-about how Raph first encountered it, how there was the huge animals, the fight they'd gotten in just this morning; he even mentioned how it came to be in the first place. April listened carefully the entire time, concerned about them all.

"But, here's the worst part...ugh, you aren't gonna like this..." Donnie then cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "That things topside."

"It's **what**?!" April shouted, making Donnie cringe. " **Topside**?!"

"Y-yeah..."

"Why aren't you up there trying to find it?!"

"We..." Donnie sighed, looking down at the ground. "We need Leo...we all need to work together. He puts the group together and without him..." He then felt April touch his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." April whispered. "What...what happened to him?"

"Oh, Leo? He got poisoned." Mikey stated, standing up from his seat next to Leo's head. April raised an eyebrow at Mikey's purple cheek, assuming it was from that creature.

"Did you get that bruised cheek from that creature?" April asked.

"Nah." Mikey said, swiping his hand in front of his face, shrugging the injury off. "That was from those giant animals. That's how Donnie got that black eye, too."

April nodded, looking between Donnie and Mikey.

"H-hey..."

The raw, raspy voice coming from Raph startled April. She turned around to see him still sitting on the bench, an ice pack on his neck.

"Raph?" she asked, cocking her head. "What happened to you?"

"He got strangled by that slime creep..." Donnie muttered with a shudder. "Gosh...I hope it's not causing chaos topside."

"Does it hurt?" April asked, now starting to get concerned for them all.

April grew confused when she saw Raph reach over and grab a notebook and pen, but quickly realized what it was for soon after. Raph scribbled down a note and then held out the notebook for April to read. April walked over, gingerly grabbing the notebook from Raph's hand. She frowned and grew sad at what she saw:

 _It hurts to even swallow._

"Guys, I'm sorry..." she whispered. "When did this all happen?"

"A couple days ago," Donnie said, yawning. "That's when this all happened."

After hearing Donnie's yawn, April started to notice how tired each of the turtles looked. She noticed their glossy eyes, the bags and the yawns they'd let out every few minutes.

"Gosh, you guys look awful!" April said, looking at them. "Did you guys get any sleep at all?"

"Not exactly," Donnie said tiredly. "We've been up all night..."

"You guys need sleep." April insisted, sitting next to Leo's feet. "I'll watch over Leo while you guys rest."

"You sure?" Donnie asked, letting out another yawn.

"Yeah, I'm sure." April said, nodding her head. "You all just get some sleep. You need it."

A small, drowsy smile appeared on Donnie's face as he slumped down in his seat. "Th-thanks, April..." His last words trailed off as he yawned again.

"You want me to call Casey?" April asked. "You guys'll probably need some help later getting things back to normal."

"Sure..." Donnie murmured, barely paying attention. He normally would hate being in contact with Casey Jones, but, the two were starting to become better friends, though, they still had their rivalries.

April took her phone out of her pocket and was about to text him. She then heard someone groggily mumble her name, which made her stop in the middle of her text.

"Can Casey bring by some coffee...?" Donnie asked, his eyes starting to close. He folded his hands in front of his stomach, getting himself into a comfortable position. "I ran out of it..."

"Sure. No problem." April replied. She couldn't help but giggle as Donnie tried to fall asleep. He fell asleep quite quickly, and when he snored, his gap tooth caused every exhale to come out as a low whistle. April smiled and texted Casey, telling him to come over...and bring coffee.

April sat for the next few minutes, watching over Leo. She made sure he was still breathing and waited patiently for any signs of him starting to awaken. But, he didn't wake up or even stir within those minutes.

April could hear Mikey mumbling in his sleep again. She wasn't sure what he was rambling about this time, but she could make out the words "pizza" and "no". She guessed he was dreaming of someone trying to steal his pizza slice.

She jumped a little when she felt her phone vibrate, and she picked it up instantly. She saw that Casey had replied to her message and decided to read it:

 _What are you doing waking me up at 9? It's the weekend! A teen needs his sleep._

April smirked and shook her head as she replied:

 _I got up earlier than you, no complaining. Don't forget to pick up the coffee._

The next text came in a lot quicker than the last, so April assumed he was actually awake now.

 _Fine...I'll be over in a bit._

April then sat and waited for Casey to show up, playing games on her phone to entertain herself. Every now and again she glanced over at Leo, just to make sure he was okay.

Around a half hour later, April heard footsteps and immediately knew Casey was here.

"Hey, Red." Casey said with a smirk as he walked over near the Pit. "What's..." He then stopped when he saw the turtles in the Pit, all asleep and looking beat. "Up?" He furrowed his eyebrows and stood there, surprised.

"Well, I've been watching over Leo." April explained, leaning forward in her seat and resting her chin in her palm. "Did you have fun sleeping?"

Casey looked stunned for a moment before he blinked and then opened his mouth to speak. "What happened?" he asked, clearly surprised.

April decided to tell him the whole story, exactly like Donnie told it, and she remembered to include every detail. Casey actually listened the entire time, starting to grow interested.

"So there's some slime thing topside?" Casey asked. His eyes then widened and a grin appeared on his face as he thought of a monster roaming the streets. "Wicked!"

"It's not exactly a good thing, Casey." April sighed, placing her hand on her forehead. She glanced in Casey's direction in a look of disgust and then looked towards the floor. "That thing being up there is dangerous, you know that. Who knows what it could do."

But Casey simply shrugged his shoulders and took a seat next to April. "Still sounds cool to me," he said with a smirk. "Reminds me of Godzilla or somethin'."

"You watch movies like that too often..." April muttered, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Do not!" Casey retorted, punching April playfully in the arm. "You've seen more movies than I have!"

April then looked over at Raph, and realized he wasn't sleeping; he was just pretending. "Having fun listening to our conversation?" she asked, a small smirk appearing on her face.

Raph opened one eye and looked towards April. He then noticed Casey was there too and made a small grin. "H-hey Case." he croaked, opening his other eye and sitting up in a more comfortable sitting position.

"Dang, Raph!" Casey exclaimed, shocked by his friend's voice. "Your voice sounds awful!"

"Gee thanks." Raph grumbled, trying to keep his voice low. He knew talking loud was going to do him more harm than good. "Nice thing to tell someone...like me..."

"Sorry." Casey said with a shrug. "Just stating the obvious."

Raph rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smirk at that. He and Casey were both alike in a way, and that way was making comeback...and teasing people.

"So, you've been awake this whole time?" April questioned, raising a eyebrow.

Raph let out a soft sigh and placed the ice pack back on his neck. His throat was obviously making him uncomfortable. "Y-yeah..." Raph muttered hoarsely, not even daring to look in April's eyes.

"How come?"

Raph stayed silent for a little while, trying to piece his words together in his head. "I...feel guilty." he simply stated, growing a bit tense.

"Should you be talking, Raph?" April asked. "Sounds like it hurts you." Even though she knew the red-banded turtle would deny it, she knew what the real answer was inside. It hurt, but he'd never dare to say something like that out in the open.

"D-don't really care..." Raph replied. "It would be...pretty awkward writing back and forth on...p-paper, huh...?"

"Oh, I see what you mean." April replied. She then shook her head, deciding to go back on the subject of what Raph mumbled earlier. "Why are you guilty?"

Raph didn't answer. In fact, he didn't want to answer. He wanted to ignore April, pretend he didn't hear her. But, he knew that wasn't going to work so well. Oh well...better just speak up. "Leo...he...he pushed me out of the way..." He then let out another sigh, resting his elbows on his knees and letting his hands droop off the side. "That should've been me that got poisoned... Not him..."

April and Casey then glanced back and forth between each other, not really sure how to respond. They knew Raph felt guilty, but, how could they make him not feel this way? They couldn't find the right words.

"Sorry..." April whispered. That's all she could think of. She didn't really know what else to say to Raph.

"It's...not your fault." Raph responded, finally looking up at her. "It...it was mine."

"Dude," Casey said, growing serious about the whole situation. "Don't blame yourself. Leo chose to help you."

"Casey's right, Raph." April said. She then smiled. "You need some sleep, Raph. You look exhausted."

"Can't..."

"Sure you can. Just close your eyes!" Casey teased. He then received a jab in the ribs from April, telling him to quit.

"I can't sleep...with all this guilt eating away...at me..." Raph then sighed again, resting his head against the back of his seat.

"Don't be guilty." April said. "Your brother chose to protect his family. It was his choice, not yours."

Raph stared at her for awhile, processing what she told him. He then nodded, looking at the ceiling. "You want me to sleep...?" he asked. "Fine..."

"Good." April then said. "You do that."

Raph then closed his eyes, allowing himself to get himself into a relaxed state. Within minutes, he had fallen asleep and his breathing had become light.

"Good..." April sighed, leaning back in her seat. "He's asleep...he really needs some sleep. He and his brothers sure need it."

"Yeah..." Casey muttered, looking from Raph to April.

And that's when the sound of coughing and gasping woke Raph up from his short slumber.

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far! This is a completely finished story, though I am uploading chapters slowly for suspense, haha. Thanks so much guys for the reviews and keep an eye out for the next chapter! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Mistake Ch. 7**  
 **Madness**

"What's going on?!" Casey cried out in shock the second he heard the gasping. He and everyone else that was awake turned their heads towards Leo to see he was trying to get himself into a sitting position while still coughing.

"Leo!" Raph cried out as he raced over to his brother's side. He knelt down to make sure Leo was okay while April went next to Raph to comfort his brother. Casey stayed behind them both, just in case they needed assistance on anything.

April put a hand on Leo's shaking shoulder, trying her very best to soothe him. "Breathe..." she said quietly, while keeping her voice as calm as possible. "Just breathe, Leo."

Leo winced and put his hand around his stomach, gritting his teeth and hissing in agony. "Pain..." he grunted, doubling over in pain. "The poison...it's _hurting_ me...!" He winced again and let out a cry and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Breathe, Leo..." April soothed, putting her other hand on the back of Leo's shell.

Raph was very upset at the situation. He wanted to speak to his brother, but, he was afraid he would be concerned about his voice. After all, he didn't really know what Raph sounded like right now, since he was pretty out of it from the poison. Raph sighed and accepted the situation; he would just let April do the talking for this one.

Leo took in deep gulps of air, trying to make the pain pass by. After a couple of minutes, the pain passed by, though, Leo knew it would return. Leo sat there panting heavily, his pupils the size of pinpricks.

The trio then gave each other worried glances. They were afraid for Leo's condition, but, hopefully, he would heal soon. Casey then opened his mouth wide.

"Dang!" he said, glancing between Mikey and Donnie. "How'd they sleep through _that_?"

Raph just gave a slight shrug by Casey's comment. He honestly didn't care if Mikey and Donnie were still asleep. He just wanted to be sure his big bro was okay.

"Is that all you care about?" April questioned, leaning forward and putting her hands on her hips and she narrowed her eyes in a glare. "Because that's _not_ very important right now!"

"Sorry, sorry! Just curious!" Casey protested, putting up his hands and shrugging in defense.

April then sighed and looked down at Leo. But, before she could say anything, Raph decided to speak.

"H-hey Leo." he said. Raph watched Leo's reaction, which was clearly a mixture of worry and surprise. Leo then took in a deep breath.

"Raph?" he asked slowly, looking up at his younger brother. "What happened to your voice...? Why does it sound so...raspy?"

"What's the last thing you clearly remember, Leo?" April then asked. She didn't really know why Leo didn't remember why Raph sounded like this, but, she kind of figured he was a bit out of it.

"Umm..." Leo mumbled to himself as he sat there, thinking. He thought hard to when he pushed Raph out of the way. "Well, I pushed Raph out of the way...I fell...things started getting a bit fuzzy after that...umm..."

"And?"

"I heard Mikey shouting Raph's name... Not sure why, though. And... Splinter came up to me...I told him...I think I said that I'd do anything for my brothers. I then remember him picking me up and walking me over to the bench and..." Leo paused for a moment, seeing if he could remember any more details. "That's it...that's all I remember."

"Quite a bit happened after that." Raph mumbled. His throat was starting to burn again, so he decided writing on paper was best.

"Oh, really? What?" Leo asked, growing curious. Yet, he was afraid for what he was about to hear. Raph starting scribbling something down on his notebook, which confused Leo at first. But, he then realized why Raph was doing this. After Raph was finished writing, he handed the paper over to his brother.

'The thing that happened with Mikey shouting was that I was getting strangled by that slime creature.'

Leo looked up at Raph for a moment. " _That's_ why you can't speak well?" he asked. He saw Raph nod and gesture for him to keep reading.

'I got mad at Donnie for telling Mikey that we'd all be okay; that no one would get hurt. I went to my room, Splinter talked to me and then I went back out. Donnie then told us he'd invited April over. She then came over, Donnie explained everything that happened, and then we all needed rest so April invited Casey over to help out.'

"Wow..." Leo mumbled as he looked over the note. "It looks like I missed quite a bit."

Raph shrugged his shoulders and went back to his place where he was sitting.

"I hope you get better soon, Leo." April said, concern filling her voice. She grew more concerned when she saw Leo wince, assuming his pain was returning.

"Y-yeah..." Leo said with a crooked grin. "Me too."

Raph excused himself and got up to get his third ice pack, for his second one had already melted. He got up, but paused after a few steps and just stood there, staring ahead. He could feel his eyes starting to drift shut and automatically got a thought of panic.

 _No!_ he thought to himself as he swayed. _Don't you dare fall asleep!_

Raph could then feel his knees buckle underneath him and he started falling to the ground.

"Woah!" April shouted as she and Casey rushed forward to stop Raph from falling. They both stopped his fall and gently lowered him back onto his seat. Raph's head lolled off to the side, and his breathing was shallow. April knew he had fallen asleep.

"When did you guys get up yesterday?" April asked, turning to Leo.

"6:00 am..." Leo slowly said.

"He's been up for over 24 hours." April stated, glancing back at Raph. "Man, he must've been pretty tired..."

-

It was now night time. Xever and Bradford- or, Fishface and Rahzar as the turtles called them- were patrolling the rooftops, searching for the turtles.

"We'd better find them..." Rahzar snarled, looking over the buildings below them. "Or Shredder'll have our heads."

"It has been three days, Bradford." Fishface responded, his Hispanic accent echoing off the alleyways. "Shredder is getting _very_ impatient."

"I know." Rahzar said. "The turtles haven't been coming up here...or, we haven't ran into them..."

Fishface wasn't paying attention to the mutant beside him, though. He was busy looking at something in the streets.

"You listening to me, Xever?" Rahzar growled. His eyes narrowed, but, he too grew curious when he figured out what the mutant fish was looking at. "What in the world is that thing?" he then asked.

"How would I know the answer?" Fishface replied, looking back at Rahzar.

"Let's capture it." Rahzar said with a wicked smirk. Fishface then let out a sigh, studying the thing below.

"Looks like some sort of slime creature." Fishface muttered, studying the creature carefully. "It looks irritated. Let's speak with it." He then jumped down with the help of his robotic legs. Rahzar let out an annoyed sigh, and, seeing there was no other option, he followed.

The creature grew startled when it heard the two mutants land and tried to run away. Fishface then tried to keep it from disappearing.

"Hold on!" he said, rushing forward. "What is troubling you? We want to help!" Xever could honestly care less what this creature was thinking. But, if it could help destroy the turtles, he'd be happy.

The creature stopped, turned and then stood there, studying them. They seemed trustworthy enough to it.

"Can you speak?" Fishface asked.

The creature shook it's "head" back and forth, indicating it was shaking it's head no.

"Ah, so you can't speak. Well, we saw you were troubled. Why are you troubled? Is there an issue?"

The thing nodded.

"Is there an enemy?"

The thing nodded.

"Ah, we have an enemy we are looking for too. They're turtles and-"

The very instant the creature heard Fishface say "turtles" it turned to a shade of blue and growled.

Fishface grew surprised at this. Did this thing hate turtles? But wait...maybe it knew **the** turtles.

"Have you met the turtles?" Rahzar butted in. This would be much easier. If this creature already had a hatred toward their own enemy, then, just maybe, it would help them out with trying to capture them.

The thing nodded again, its color not changing back to its normal yellow-green color. It let out a growl again, remembering how they had fought it. It wanted revenge, and it wanted it now. The sooner these turtles were out of its life, the better.

"It just so happens these turtles are _our_ enemies as well," Fishface stated, an evil smirk appearing on his face, showing his sharp teeth. "So, how about we make a deal. Would you help us in defeating our foe? That way, they'll be out of your life and ours."

The creature sat there for a moment or two, not sure what to do. Finally, its color changed back to normal and it nodded its "head", agreeing to the plan.

"Great." Fishface said, turning and starting to walk. He looked behind him and gestured for the creature to follow. "You'll have to meet our master."

The creature decided to follow. It shrunk itself down to about Rahzar's height first, just so no one would see a huge slime thing roaming around. It then followed its new allies onto the rooftops, following them back to Shredder's lair.

 _Perfect..._ Fishface thought as he smiled to himself, jumping from roof to roof. _Now we have a better chance at taking away what Hamato Yoshi loves..._

-

A day and a half later, the turtles were all in better condition. Leo was a lot better, and, when the pain from the poison came back, it was so dull to the point where he could ignore it with ease.

Raph could talk without his throat bugging him, though, his voice still did sound scratchy, and it would sound that way for at least a few more days.

During the past couple of days, Leo anxiously wanted to train again, even though he couldn't. Today was the day he finally could, and he was ready. He needed to get caught up if he wanted to help his brothers defeat that awful creature.

Raph had agreed to be his sparring partner, though, he felt nervous about the whole thing. He didn't want to hurt his brother. He didn't understand why Leo chose him, since he was the roughest out of the bunch. But, Leo and Raph fought similarly.

The two stood in the dojo, face to face, about ten feet apart from each other. Raph let out a sigh and crossed his arms across his chest, trying to get Leo to pick another brother for the training.

"I'm not sure about this, Leo." Raph said uncertainly. "Maybe you should get Mikey or Donnie to-"

"I'm training to fight a dangerous beast." Leo interrupted, trying to prove a point. "I chose you because you're the toughest. _That's_ the kind of training I need right now."

Raph sighed again, cracking his neck and knuckles, preparing for training. "Alright," Raph said. "But, just this once, I think I should go easy on you."

"No need." Leo said with a smirk.

Raph bent his knees and got into a fighting stance, waiting for Leo to do the same. Leo got in his fighting stance and then reached behind his back and took his twin katanas out of their holders.

"Anata no buki o byōga shimasu." Leo said, his eyes narrowing and his face turning into a determined one.

Raph then took his sais out of his belt, twirling them between his three fingers. He then had to decide- was Leo going to make the first move or was he going to have to? Leo stood there, waiting, and Raph assumed he was waiting for him.

"Sutāto." Leo said.

Raph nodded. He then rushed forward, preparing to ram into Leo with all force. Luckily, Leo jumped into the air and did a back flip, just before Raph could hit him. Raph stopped himself and turned around, waiting to see what Leo's move would be.

Leo rushed forward with his katanas out. Raph immediately reacted and caught his brothers blades in between his sais.

The two pushed against each other for awhile, seeing who'd push the strongest and shove the other one out of the way. Leo assumed it would be Raph, but, Raph was waiting to see what Leo would do.

After several more seconds, Leo wasn't budging. Raph pushed his arms forward, but not too hard, causing Leo's swords to become untangled from Raph's sais. Leo stumbled back a step or two and then stood, planning his next move.

He rushed towards Raph, but Raph quickly dodged his attack. Raph came forward with a punch, but, Leo leaned himself back, avoiding the punch by just inches.

Raph backed up a few steps, staring at his brother, waiting to see what he'd do. He was surprised to just see him smirk.

"What are you waiting for?" Leo asked in a cocky tone. " _Attack!_ "

"Fine then!" Raph replied. "I will!"

He charged toward, his sais out, ready to attack his brother. Leo then decided to act fast. He crouched down, brought one leg out and spun in a 180 degree motion. The movement caught Raph's legs, causing Raph to trip and fall over into his face.

He then looked up at Leo who had his hand outstretched, offering to help his younger brother up. Raph hesitated but eventually took his hand and Leo helped him to his feet.

"Not bad." Raph said with a nod of approval. "I think you're ready to take on this thing."

"Bravo!"

The brothers slowly turned around to see their brother standing at the entrance, applauding.

"Mikey?" Raph asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "How long have you been here? Where you here the whole time?"

"Yeah," Mikey said, rocking back and forth of the balls of his feet. "Sweet moves, Leo!"

"Yeah," Leo said with an awkward smile. "I guess I recovered quick, huh?"

Donnie then walked in, pushing his way past Mikey. He went over to Raph and Leo, his T-phone in his hand.

"What's up, Donnie?" Leo asked. The worried expression on his face then had him change his tone. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," Donnie replied nervously. "We need to go up topside, and soon." He then held out his T-phone to Leo, who took it and played a news clip that was pulled up.

'And witnesses say that they've seen a large, slimy, green creature roaming the streets just recently.'

The turtles looked at each other. They couldn't believe what the reporter was saying. They grew curious, yet nervous as they continued to watch.

'Luckily, one of the witnesses had a photo on his cell phone.'

An image then appeared on the screen, which was blurry, but, you could tell that it was indeed the creature.

'This creature appears to be quite tall, but no one is for certain. It has caused no harm, and had only wandered about and it seems distressed. But, just a little while ago, a witness caught a picture of this creature on the rooftops.'

The three turtles gasped as the picture appeared on the small screen. The creature stood on the rooftops, but it appeared to be in motion, due to the blurry image. But, what scared them the most was the two dark, blurry silhouettes next to it.

"Even the creature is hard to make out..." Donnie sighed as Leo handed him back his phone. "It is a dark, very blurry image."

"We need to find out who's in that picture." Raph said. "And we need to destroy this thing!"

"Could you guys find out who those two guys are?" Donnie asked, handing back over the phone. "I am working on something that'll help destroy that thing."

"What is it, exactly?" Leo asked.

"Just a mixture of a bunch of different compounds, chemicals and such." Donnie then let out a sigh and twiddled his thumbs. "This is my sixth attempt...heh, the rest all didn't exactly work too well. Hopefully, this attempt goes much more smoothly."

"I hope so too..." Leo responded. "The sooner we beat this thing, the better. We'll look at the picture too, by the way."

"Good." Donnie said with a small smile. "I'll be in my lab if you find out who the silhouettes are."

As soon as Donnie left, Mikey ran up to Raph and Leo, a wide smile spread across his face. "Can I help?" he asked.

Raph let out a sigh, and then nodded. "Sure." he muttered.

"Awesome!" Mikey cheered. "Okay, okay, I'll be Sherlock, and you two are my trusty assistants!"

Raph and Leo both let out groans as Mikey got into a "heroic" pose.

"Alright, men!" Mikey said, deepening his voice. "Let's crack the case!"

-

Shredder sat at his throne room with Tigerclaw by his side. Both were growing impatient and both watched the door like hawks. Xever and Bradford would be walking through that door any minute, and the Shredder wasn't patient enough to deal with another miss.

"Those fools..." Shredder grumbled. "If they don't return in a few minutes, they're both in for it."

"Relax, Master Shredder." Tigerclaw said quietly from where he stood. "They'll show up soon."

"And they'd better have Hamato Yoshi's sons." Shredder said. "They know what will happen if they don't..."

A few minutes later, Rahzar and Fishface walked into the room with the creature following close behind them. They immediately grew nervous when they saw Master Shredder's face. He was not happy; not one bit. In fact, he was furious.

"What's _this?!_ " he yelled in rage, storming up to the two mutants. He stared down at them, a fierce glare implanted on his face. "I told you to bring me the turtles, and what do you bring me?!"

"Master-"

"Do not interrupt me while I'm speaking, you _fool!_ " Shredder spat. He then brought his arm out and had the blades on his arm prices come out, which was almost touching Rahzar's nose. "I _told_ you what would happen if you disobeyed my orders..."

"Master Shredder! Let us explain!" Fishface pleaded.

"I don't need you to explain anything to me, _mutant._ " Shredder growled.

"But Master Shredder! Xever is right! We _do_ need to explain this to you." Rahzar protested, looking nervously at the blade near his face.

"I'd let them explain," Tigerclaw said, walking up to Shredder. "Just to see what idiotic excuse they have before I'd punish them..."

"Very well..." Shredder mumbled, looking from Tigerclaw to the two mutants in front of him. "Make your explanation a good one or I _swear_ I'll throw you in the cellar."

"You see, Master Shredder...This creature hates the turtles." Fishface explained. "It-"

"And how do you know this, _fish?_ " Shredder said, narrowing his eyes and pointing the blade at the mutant fish. "I haven't seen this thing speak."

"What he says is true, Master." Rahzar said. "He mentioned the turtles and it grew angry about it."

"Yes, yes!" Fishface said. "It was angry when I mentioned the turtles! They're its enemy too!"

Shredder stared up at the creature. He retracted his blade back into his arm piece, shoved Fishface and Rahzar aside and went up to the creature. "Is it true you despise Splinter's sons as well?"

The creature nodded its "head" and Shredder immediately smiled from under his mask. He let out a low chuckle and then turned to his helpers.

"Xever, Bradford, go get Baxter Stockman." Shredder demanded. The two mutants nodded and ran off to get Baxter Stockman quickly. Shredder then turned and looked up at the creature again. "He'll have to see what this thing is capable of."

"Of course, Master Shredder." Tigerclaw said.

Shredder let out another laugh and then turned towards Tigerclaw. "We'll have some use for this thing. Finally, we can destroy the thing Hamato Yoshi loves most..."

-

"No... It _can't_ be!" Leo whispered as he stared at the image. "This can't be them! Anyone but them!"

"I think it is, bro..." Mikey replied.

"This isn't good..." Leo muttered, staring at the edited photo again. They'd figured out how to raise the brightness. "If they managed to get it...then..."

"Shredder has it." Raph finished. "And that is never a good thing to hear."

"Should we tell Donnie?" Mikey asked, growing worried.

"We **_have_** to tell Donnie!" Leo said. "He told us to."

Raph took the phone from Leo's hand and started heading towards Donnie's lab. "Alright." he said. "He sure isn't going to be happy."

Mikey and Leo followed close behind as Raph approached Donnie's lab. Donnie was in the middle of working on the mixture he mentioned earlier, so none of them wanted to disturb him. Raph waited till Donnie was finished adding a drop of some sort of liquid until he knocked on the doorframe.

Donnie heard the knock and jumped a little in his seat. He then turned in his office chair and saw his brothers standing there with his T-phone. "Well?" Donnie asked. "Who is it?"

Each of Donnie's brothers grew nervous when he asked them this question. Leo knew his brothers weren't going to speak, so he took the liberty to tell Donnie.

"You aren't going to like who it is..." Leo said slowly, his voice trailing off at the end. Leo saw Donnie raise a questioning eyebrow until he continued. "It was Rahzar and Fishface..."

"Shredder has it..." Donnie whispered, his eyes growing wide. He stood up, walked over and peeked at the picture. He then took his T-phone and put it in his belt with a sigh. "This isn't good...not at all."

"Exactly."

"That thing hates us," Raph pointed out. "And now the situation is even worse with Slimy on Shredder's side! We're gonna get our shells kicked!"

"Maybe," Leo said, staying calm. "But, we have to stop this thing. It's done enough harm to us all."

Raph let out a sigh and nodded slowly. "It'll attack me first. I just know it."

"Why?"

"Have you _seen_ what's been going on, Leo?!" Raph yelled, walking up to him. "First, it tried to _drown_ me, and then it _strangled_ me! It's out to _kill_ me!"

"Okay, okay." Leo said, holding up his hands. "I know, it...kind of hates you. But, I bet it hates _all_ of us."

"But how could it hate _me?_ " Mikey asked, putting on his puppy dog eyes. " _I'm_ the cute one of the team!"

"I don't think this thing cares about cuteness." Donnie stated.

"Aw..." Mikey grumbled.

Leo then sighed looked down at the ground. He then looked up, his face growing determined.

"That thing is out there and it needs to be stopped." Leo said. He looked at all of his brothers and knew they knew what he was about to say.

"Ninjas, we are going to stop that thing. _Tonight._ "


	8. Chapter 8

The Mistake Ch. 8  
Danger

"Eczzzzelent." Baxter Stockman buzzed as he looked over his notes. "Mazzzter Shredder will be pleazzed."

He studied the notes for a few more seconds before looking up at the creature. "Let'zzz see... You can shrink and grow?"

The thing nodded its "head".

"And you create different typezzz of liquid? They're a poison one, one to grow animalzzz and one that turnzzz to acid?"

The thing nodded again.

"Wonderful!" the mutant fly said happily, letting on an evil snicker. His head twitched as he placed the notebook down on the table and as he checked each box off. "You'll be uzzzeful to uzzz."

Shredder then entered the room, accompanied with Tigerclaw, Fishface and Rahzar. "Alright, Stockman." Shredder said, looking at him with a slight glare. "This had _better_ be good. What can this thing do?"

"Ah, yezzz, Master. You'll be very pleazzzed." He then picked up the notes and handed them to his Master to look over. Shredder looked over the notes, and then, he smiled from under his mask.

"Excellent." Shredder said, looking up at the creature. "You'll be of very good use to us." He then turned to Baxter Stockman. "Its poison isn't strong enough...is there any way you can create a poison for it to use that can have the turtles unable to fight for several days?"

"I see where you're getting, Mazzzter Shredder," Baxter Stockman said happily, his head twitching once. "You want them to be unable to fight so you can find them. Wonderful! That'll gives us lotzzz of time to dezzztroy them. And I'll be sure to make thizzz poison what you wish for, Mazzzter."

Shredder nodded, and Stockman flew to his work table, ready to work on the poison.

"You make sure this is ready later today," Shredder hissed, narrowing his eyes at the mutant fly. "And this poison had better work like you say it does...or you know what happens."

"Y-yezzz Mazzzter." the mutant fly buzzed nervously. "I'll get right on it."

Shredder then nodded again and turned around, heading for the exit. Baxter Stockman was left alone in his lab with the creature to work on the poison.

It was now nighttime; time for the turtles to leave. They all gathered things into their belts- smoke bombs, ninja stars, anything that would be useful to them on this mission. Everyone then paused when they heard Donnie cry out in joy.

"Finally!" Donnie shouted gleefully as he raced out of his lab. "After twelve attempts, the mixture is finally done!"

"Does it work?" Leo questioned as he put his katanas into their sheaths.

"Of course!" Donnie said, raising an eyebrow at his brother's question. "What? Did you think I wouldn't test it first? It's only logical to test it. That way, you know if it has any effects you don't want and such."

Master Splinter then walked out from the dojo, watching his sons pack. He then cleared his throat, causing his sons to stop what they were doing.

"Are you leaving?" Splinter asked, his hand on his cane.

Everyone turned to see Master Splinter standing near the Pit, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, Sensei." Leo responded, turning towards his father.

"Good. But first, may I speak with Raphael?"

Everyone looked at Raph right after Splinter said this. Raph gulped. Was he in trouble? But, following his Sensei's command, he nodded and walked up to him nervously.

Splinter lead his son to the dojo, where they'd talk. As soon as they were in the dojo, Splinter started to speak.

"Raphael-"

"Am I in trouble, Sensei?" Raph asked, worried about why his father wanted to speak to him. "I swear, it was _Mikey_ who broke that vase!"

"No, my son, you are not in any trouble." He then raised an eyebrow slightly and narrowed his eyes. "However, I'll have to talk to Michelangelo about that vase..."

"Then what are you wanting to talk to me about?" Raph asked, quickly growing confused. "If it's about us fighting that creature, wouldn't you normally talk to Leo about that stuff?"

"Yes, Raphael, I would." Splinter replied. "And, this conversation has to do with Leonardo."

"It does?"

Splinter nodded and casually started stoking his beard. "Yes. It does." Splinter then paused for a brief moment before he continued. "My son, you do understand this poison has effected Leonardo's body?"

"Hai, Sensei..."

"You understand he could still get weak?"

"Yeah, but...what does this have to do with me, Sensei?"

"This has everything to do with you, Raphael." Splinter replied. "However, Leonardo is part of this conversation as well."

Raph's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he stood, trying to sink everything in. "But-"

"If Leonardo shall become weak during this fight, I need you to take over as leader." Splinter interrupted, giving Raph a serious look.

" _Me?_ " Raph asked, pointing at himself with his thumb. " _Why_ me? I'm not fit to be a leader! Why didn't you choose Donnie for this?"

"Because, my son, I believe in you," Splinter replied, a small smile appearing on his face. "And, you are the second oldest."

"But, why me, Sensei?" Raph asked, his hands falling to his sides. " _I_ have the _temper_! Why would you let someone who _yells_ at his own brothers play a leader?" Raph looked up at his father, and Splinter could see in his son's face that he desperately wanted this question answered.

"Raphael-"

"What if Mikey was the second oldest?" Raph then asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That would be a mistake for him to be leader." Splinter said with a soft chuckle. "But, Raphael, I chose you because you are strong. You will try your best to defend your brothers. You have a heart." Splinter then pointed at Raph's chest, where his heart is.

"Sensei...are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Raphael." Splinter responded. "Now, my son, I have told Leonardo this and now I am telling you."

"What is it, Sensei?" Raph asked, starting to grow curious. He hoped inside that this thing his father was about to say wasn't going to be saddening.

"This mission will be tough." Splinter started, pacing back and forth in front of Raph. "You all must stick together. My son, you must complete this mission of destroying this creature." He then stopped his pacing to look right at his son.

"You must complete this mission no matter who or what you have to sacrifice..."

Raph's eyes grew slightly wide as he heard his father say these words. He sad feeling twisted in his gut and he took a deep breath. "Sensei..." he said softly, looking up at his father.

"Yes, Raphael?"

"I'm totally fine with going out there and risking my own life..." Raph continued. He looked at the ground and then back up at his father, a slight look of worry plastered on his face. "But...risking my brothers'? I...I just couldn't do that."

Raph then looked down again and let out a soft sigh as he shook his head gently. "I couldn't do that."

Raph then lifted his eyes up to Splinter as he felt a paw softly touch his shoulder. Splinter gave him a small smile; a smile that showed kindness and gentleness of all sorts.

"I'm so glad you care about your brothers." Splinter told his son softly, keeping a firm grip on Raph's shoulder. "And I'm glad you care about your brothers' safety."

Splinter then knelt down in a crouch and looked up at Raph with a look of proudness. It then changed to a look of seriousness, almost as if a storm cloud has passed through. "But, you must complete this mission at any cost. And, at the same time, you MUST stick together. That's a must."

"I understand, Sensei." Raph muttered, though he didn't want to admit he still didn't like the words "at any cost".

At any cost? What cost? Them having to retreat? Or worse? What if someone else got injured? What if all of them did? What if...someone lost their life? All of these what if's ran through Raph's brain as Splinter and him went back out to the Pit together.

Raph went over to his brothers, who were now prepared to leave. They turned around and headed out the door, but then stopped when they heard their Sensei call them.

"Be careful, my sons." Splinter said, resting his hand on his cane.

"We'll try our best, Sensei." Leo replied with a small smile. "We'll leave if necessary."

Splinter returned the smile, and then watched as his sons turned back around and walked out into the sewers. Splinter stood in the same spot for several minutes, his hand on his cane, alone.

The turtles had been walking through the sewer tunnels for a few minutes, trying to find a ladder that would lead them topside.

Raph was walking near Donnie, until Leo called him over. Raph slowed his pace so he walked side by side with Leo and then turned his head, since he knew his brother wanted to talk to him.

"What did Sensei say?" Leo asked, staring ahead.

"Well, Leo..." Raph said awkwardly. "You aren't gonna like it."

Leo turned his head toward Raph, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"Splinter is worried about you." Raph continued. "He said the poison still may be effecting your body."

"It is _not_!" Leo protested, throwing his hands in the air and stopping in his tracks. "I swear, I'm fine!"

Donnie and Mikey then realized their older brothers weren't following them and they stopped and turned their heads. "You guys coming?" Donnie asked.

"Hang on." Leo said, holding a hand out towards Donnie but not turning to look at him. He then continued the conversation. "Does Sensei think I'm useless or something?"

"I don't think it's that!" Raph replied. "He is just worried! Who knows if you'd be able to stay in a long fight! Or, who knows! You may not even be able to run as long!"

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"Leo, listen, you need more time to recover! There no question about it!" Raph continued, raising his voice slightly. "And time isn't something we have right now!"

Leo's eyes then widened and he let out a sigh of defeat. He looked at the ground and shook his head. "I guess Sensei is saying these things for a reason..." he murmured, sadness showing in his voice. "What does he want you to do about it, though?"

"He wants me to take over as leader if you become too weak."

Leo sighed again and then looked up at his brother. He started walking again, which caused Donnie and Mikey to continue walking as well. "We need a code word or sound or something..." Leo said.

"Like what?"

Leo pondered over this for almost a minute before an idea came over him. "I could whistle." he suggested.

"Yeah. Like I could hear _that_." Raph mumbled.

"Trust me, I can whistle loud." Leo replied with a slight chuckle. "You could hear it across the sewers."

"Alright," Raph said with a nod. "Guess that'll work."

"I just hope I can stay in the fight a decent amount of time."

"I'm sure you will, Leo." Donnie added, which caught Leo and Raph off guard. He didn't turn around as he spoke and continued to walk forward. "You are strong, after all."

Leo smiled. "Thanks." he said softly.

Donnie smiled too, though Leo couldn't see it. He then stopped and looked up and then turned around. "There's a ladder." he said, pointing upward.

"Alright," Leo said, staring up at the ladder. "Check to see if the coast is clear."

Donnie nodded and started making his way up the ladder, gripping the cold rungs tightly. He then slowly lifted the manhole and moved it aside, peeking out in the process. He looked left and then right, and then in both directions again, just to make sure no one was there.

"Everything is clear." Donnie announced, looking down at his brothers.

Everyone then made their way up the ladder and into the alleyway above. They then went up the fire escape on the side of the building nearby to get to the rooftops. They made it on top of the roofs, looking over the nighttime sky.

"Sweet view, dudes." Mikey breathed as he looked at the city lights.

"Yeah," Leo said, feeling his mask tails fluttering in the wind. "It's great." He then sighed and had everyone get in a huddle. "Okay, guys, we need a plan."

"Do _you_ have a plan?" Donnie asked.

"Sort of." Leo said. "Here's how it'll work: we all will go into TCRI together. Then, together we will find Shredder's lair or wherever that creature is. We may have to split up while fighting, but, if one of us needs help, be sure to say so."

"I won't need help." Raph said with a cocky smile. "I can take care of myself."

"And what were you saying before?" Donnie questioned, pretending to be deep in thought. "I think I recall you saying something about that thing out to kill you, yes? I think you really don't want to be alone, huh?"

Raph shot his brother a glare and frowned. "I can fight _myself_!" he shouted. "Sure, that thing IS out to get me, but still!"

"Guys, _enough_." Leo hissed. "We gotta move."

Everyone nodded in unison and started running across the rooftops, jumping across the gaps. They made sure to keep a watchful eye out for other enemies and Donnie frequently checked to see if the vial containing the mixture to destroy that creature was still tucked in his belt.

"Still there?" Leo asked, noticing Donnie had checked his belt again.

"Yeah, good thing, too." Donnie said in a relieved tone. "We sure can't afford to lose this now."

They all ran for a few more minutes, not speaking to each other. They were all determined to get to TCRI quickly. After a few minutes, the turtles all stopped at the edge of a building which overlooked the place Shredder was.

"This is it." Leo said, staring at the building below. "Guys, we need to create a plan, and fast."

"I've got one!" Raph piped up, smirking and hitting is fist into his open palm. "We break in, destroy that thing and get out."

"It's more complex than that, Raph." Donnie pointed out, gesturing toward the Footbots standing by the doorway below. "Technically, you have to get past around...a few dozen of them just to get through the first hallway.

"And who knows how many halls you'll have to go through? I've calculated that on every trip, we go through exactly nine halls before we reach Shredder's throne room, which could take exactly six-teen minutes, forty-three seconds and two milliseconds, but, it all depends on how many Foot there are! If there's fifty of them then..."

Everyone stopped listening as Donnie calculated how much time it would take for them to reach the Shredder...depending on how many enemies they had to get out of the way. Leo was plotting, and his plot seemed decent enough. He shrugged his shoulders, telling himself he'd try it.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, Don..." Leo said sheepishly. "I kind of came up with a plan while you jabbered."

Donnie stood there, baffled. His eyes were wide and he blinked in surprise. "Oh...um, well, let's hear it." he muttered, blushing slightly of embarrassment.

"See those two Footbots down there?" Leo asked, pointing down by the entrance.

"Yeah," everyone replied.

"Okay, so, what I'll do is go down there, get those two out of the way and then I'll signal you guys to come." Leo then shrugged and let out a soft chuckle. "I know, not my best plan, but, it could work out."

"Alright," Raph said, letting out a huff. He was clearly ticked about not getting to pound some Foot.

"Be careful down there, dude." Mikey said, patting Leo on the back of his shell. "Yell to us if you need backup!"

Leo turned away from his brother as he remembered what Raph had said about what Splinter told him earlier. He didn't want to feel weak; not at all. He just wished he could prove everything was just fine...

"Okay, Mikey." Leo said quietly, turning to his brother. He put a fake grin on his face as he spoke. "I'll be sure to."

Leo then jumped from the short building and instantly hid in the shadows, just so he wouldn't get spotted. Quietly and swiftly, he unsheathed his katanas, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As soon as the Footbots weren't looking his direction, he came out from his hiding spot.

He quickly rushed forward, his katanas pointing outward. He sliced, and could see sparks coming from the bots as his sword went through their torsos. Leo then looked up and waved them down, signaling the Footbots were down.

The three brothers hopped down from the roof and joined their brother. Leo then put a finger to his lips, telling them all to stay silent. He then slowly opened the door and they all made their way inside.

"It'zzz finished!" Baxter Stockman said joyfully. "After many hourzzz, I am done." He flew up to the creature, staring at it with happy eyes. He then held the vial containing the poison out to it. "Uzzze your arm to zzzuck up thizzz liquid."

The creature followed the mutant fly's command and used one of its tentacle-like arms to suck up the man made poison. The end up the arm grew pointy. It was ready to inject the liquid into its enemy.

"Wonderful." Baxter Stockman said. He watched as the creature fused its arm back with its body. "Shredder will defiantly be pleazzzed."

As if on cue, Shredder walked into the lab, but, this time, he came alone. "Are you finished with the poison, Stockman?" Shredder asked, staring down at him with a look of impatience.

"Ah, yezzz, Mazzzter." the mutant fly said sheepishly, wringing his hands together. "Here it izzz."

The creature then brought out its arm, and Shredder looked at it, very displeased.

"What poison, Stockman?" Shredder asked, growing irritated. "I see _nothing_!"

"That'zzz because it's clear, Mazzzter. That way, the turtlezzz don't see it."

Shredder thought for a moment, staring up at the creature. He then turned to Baxter Stockman. "This could work..." he said, a sinister grin appearing from behind his mask. "The turtles won't suspect a thing..."

The door then slammed open and in came Tigerclaw with an urgent message to deliver.

"What's this?!" Shredder yelled, turning around towards Tigerclaw. " _What_ do you need?"

"The turtles." Tigerclaw said simply as he held open the door. "The turtles are here."

Shredder glanced back at the creature and laughed. "Time to put you to good use," he said. "Follow me." Shredder then walked out with Tigerclaw, the creature following behind him.

Fishface and Rahzar were waiting for them, ready for the turtles to come.

"They won't stand a chance against all of us!" Fishface said with a snicker. "They are heading towards your throne room, Master Shredder."

"Then my throne room is where we'll go." Shredder commanded as he walked toward their destination. "The turtles are in for a big surprise..."

"Are we almost there?" Mikey whined, his arms drooping at his sides. "We've been walking _forever_!"

"Actually, we've only been walking for about ten minutes, Mikey." Donnie pointed out. "We'll be there any second..."

Mikey fist pump the air and smiled. "Finally!" he shouted, as Raph covered his mouth.

"Hush up." Raph hissed. "We don't want anyone hearing us."

After another minute or so, the turtles stood at the doorways to the Shredder's throne room. They all got a strange feeling about this whole situation. Something felt...off.

"Something's not right..." Leo whispered, staring up at the door. "Why is there no one attacking?"

"I don't know, dudes!" Mikey said as he got an uneasy feeling. "Something's fishy here!"

"You got that right." Leo said, keeping his hand near a smoke bomb just in case. "But, we have to go in there, even if someone is waiting."

Everyone nodded, except Mikey, who looked frozen in fear.

"Mikey?" Donnie asked, cocking his head at his brother. "Are you coming or what?"

Mikey gulped and shook off the feeling quickly. "Y-yeah." he stuttered. "But...what if...what if the Shredder is in there?"

His brothers grew surprised at this. They didn't think of that possibility, and now they realized there was a strong chance that he was behind those doors, and everyone then understood Mikey's fear.

"Mikey," Leo said, giving his brother a smile. "We'll all stick with you. Remember? No turtle left behind?"

Mikey nodded and smiled back. "Yeah..." he replied. A flashback went through his head of their last encounter with Shredder. They barely made it out, covered in wounds and bruises black and blue. None of them has ever forgotten that horrid day.

"Then we're sticking together." Leo said and his brothers all nodded. "Okay, I'm opening this door now." Leo slowly pushed the door open, expecting someone to jump out at them. But, no one did.

The four turtles went inside the room, glancing around. They searched for anyone that could be there, but, they were having a hard time seeing since the room was dark.

Leo knew he couldn't see, so he decided to listen. He closed his eyes, put a hand on his blades and listened. He waited, waiting to hear a sound of any sort. Finally he heard it. It was just a faint sound, just a soft exhale that no regular person could hear.

Leo dashed forward, letting out a yell as his katanas clanged against metal; Shredder's armor. Leo cringed as the lights flashed on, revealing the Shredder just a couple feet in front of him. Leo lowered his blades and took a few steps back towards his brothers, a look of determination in his eyes.

"Turtles..." Shredder said, standing up straight and tall. "Glad you could join us."

"We _didn't_ come here to see _you_." Leo stated. "We are here for the creature."

"Is that so?" Shredder asked, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"Yeah!" Raph snarled, gripping his sais tightly. "Hand it over and no one gets hurt!"

"Pathetic turtle..." Shredder said, stepping out from his spot. Tigerclaw, Fishface and Rahzar followed behind him, and they all looked angry. "You think you're all powerful?"

"Wrong answer." Raph said, preparing to run forward. That is, until Donnie put his arm out to block his path.

"We don't have time for this, Raph!" Donnie whispered. "We _have_ to work together!"

Raph looked up at Donnie and then back over at his most hated enemy. "Fine," he said, his grip on his weapon loosening slightly. "Let's just beat that thing..."

Shredder looked at all his helpers and then looked at the turtles and pointed at them. "Attack." he commanded.

The enemies rushed forward, attacking the turtles. Fishface looked around, wondering where that creature was. He then spotted it on a ledge, preparing to do a sneak attack. Fishface found a way to get up to the ledge. He instantly noticed the creature was blue and it was growling. But, Fishface realized it was towards a specific person.

"Who are you angry with, creature?" Fishface asked. This could work to his advantage. If the creature hated someone specific, Fishface would make sure everyone ganged up on that one person.

The creature growled again, and it made its arm come out and it pointed it towards one turtle; Raphael.

"Ah, so you are angry at the red one?" Fishface asked, an evil grin spreading across his face. "I'll help you defeat him."

The creature may have looked at him, but he wasn't too sure. It then jumped down from the ledge and Fishface followed. As the creature neared Raph, it let out a screech and thrust its tentacle arms forward, which Raph quickly dodged.

"Where'd you come from?!" Raph yelled, dodging a kick from Fishface.

Fishface then looked over at Rahzar, who was behind Raph. "I'll take care of the one this creature hates." Fishface said. "You go get the others! I'll let you know when we can all gang on the red one."

Rahzar just nodded and ran off to where Leo was.

Leo got surprised when he saw Rahzar running towards him. He would've defended himself, but, he was busy fighting Tigerclaw. Luckily, Donnie stepped in and whacked Rahzar upside the head, making the mutant stumble back.

"Thanks Don," Leo panted, blocking a punch from Tigerclaw. "Now, hurry! Go help Raph! They're trying to _kill_ him!"

"Is Mikey staying with you?" Donnie asked, not turning around when Rahzar rose to his feet. Instead he just brought his bō staff back, hitting Rahzar on the head again.

"Yeah,"Leo replied, swiping his swords at Tigerclaw. Unfortunately, the mutant tiger dodged. "Now go!"

Donnie nodded and did as he was told and started running towards Raph. But, his path got blocked by Rahzar once again.

"Quit hitting me with your stupid stick, turtle." Rahzar snarled. "Or else I'll have to break it."

"Oh, I wasn't planning on that today." Donnie replied. He jumped out of the way of Rahzar's claws and then jumped into the air, launching himself off of the top of Rahzar's head.

Rahzar fell onto his knees and he winced as he grabbed his head.

Donnie ran over to Raph, who was in the middle of trying to get Fishface out of the way.

"Need some help?" Donnie asked, jumping in next to his brother.

"Sure," Raph panted, shoving Fishface aside. "I could use a little help right now." Raph then dodged an attack that came from the creature and swiped his sais towards it. However, the creature shrunk, dodging the attack.

Donnie ducked under Fishface's punch, and, in a flash, he kicked his leg out and could feel it hitting Fishface's chest.

Fishface stumbled back and gasped, holding his chest. The creature then stepped in front of him, shooting its arms towards the turtles.

Raph and Donnie ducked just in time and rushed towards the creature. Fishface ran behind Donnie, planning on doing a sneak attack. And, it worked. Fishface kicked Donnie in the back of his shell, making him stumble forward. The creature then hit him in the plastron, hard enough to make him skid near Leo.

"Donnie!" Leo cried. "Use the mixture."

"I _can't_!" Donnie replied, rising to his feet. "I don't have a clear shot of the creature yet!"

"Well, you'd better do it soon!" Leo said. He then rushed towards Tigerclaw and watched Donnie run back over to Raph.

Tigerclaw swiped his claws at Leo, and Leo put up his katanas in a block. Leo was careful to watch Mikey, who was trying to fend off Rahzar.

"You doing okay, Mikey?" Leo shouted so Mikey could hear him. Leo jumped out of the way as Tigerclaw shot one of his laser guns at him, and still waited for an answer from Mikey.

"Yeah, dude!" Mikey said, getting a couple of hits on Rahzar. "I'm doing just-" He then gasped as he saw a flash of orange pass by and a sharp pain hit his arm.

Leo chased after Tigerclaw, and it took him a few seconds to realize Tigerclaw did a fast attack on his brother.

Mikey looked down and then could feel blood trickling down his arm onto his elbow pad. He bit his lip to keep himself from crying out and then looked up at Leo, who was tackling Tigerclaw.

Leo got thrown off of Tigerclaw but recovered quickly. He jumped up and ran towards Mikey, who was on his knees, holding his arm.

"You okay, Mikey?" Leo asked, crouching next to his brother.

"I'll live." Mikey said with a weak chuckle. He then took his hand off of his wound and winced as he got a good look at it.

Tigerclaw's claws had sliced Mikey's arm, making a wound on the top near his shoulder. It was bleeding heavily, and Leo had to figure out a way to stop it. Quickly, he untied his mask from his face.

"What are you doing?" Mikey asked, staring up at his brother.

"This'll last as a bandage for now." Leo said, glancing over his shoulder to see if Tigerclaw was heading his way. Luckily, he wasn't. "I'll tie it on for you."

Mikey watched as Leo tied his blue mask around the cut on Mikey's arm.

"Won't the blood ruin your mask?" Mikey questioned.

"I can wash it." Leo muttered, tying the knot on the mask. He then stood and turned around, and saw Tigerclaw was just a few feet away from him.

"How sappy," Tigerclaw growled. "It makes me feel sick to my stomach."

Leo put his hand out, still holding his sword. Putting his hand out blocked Tigerclaw's path from his brother, but, it wouldn't do too much protection.

"You leave my brother alone." Leo hissed back, preparing to attack if necessary. "Or _else_." He made sure to keep an eye on Raph and Donnie, who were trying to keep the creature occupied so Donnie could use the mixture.

Donnie avoided a kick from Fishface, and managed to punch the mutant fish in the gut. Fishface let out a grunt and leaned forward, giving Raph the chance to kick him in the back.

Fishface fell forward, but, the creature quickly replaced him. It charged forward, letting out a shriek. The two turtles jumped out of the way just in time, avoiding the collision.

"When are you gonna use that stuff, Don?" Raph asked, punching Fishface as the fish rose to his feet.

"In a little bit." Donnie replied, watching the creature. "I need a good shot of it..."

Donnie switched places with Raph, fending off Fishface and Raph decided to try and distract the creature for Donnie.

Raph watched the creature come up near him, a growl rumbling in its throat. "Yeah, yeah, I know you hate me," Raph mumbled, preparing to attack. "No need to show it."

The creature growled again and quickly shot its tentacle arms towards Raph, who, by instinct, dodged.

"Oh, so you wanna fight, huh?" Raph said, a smirk appearing on his face. His grip on his sais tightened and he got into a battle stance. "Fine. Hit me with your best shot."

The thing rushed forward, and Raph jumped out of the way, and then ran forward, his sais facing towards the creature. The creature immediately shrunk, getting out of range. Raph skidded to a stop, and turned to see the creature standing there.

"You gonna fight or what?!" Raph yelled, cracking his neck. "Bring it on!"

The creature charged forward again, and Raph stepped to the side, growing irritated with the creatures repeated patterns. "Is _that_ all you can do?" he asked, still facing the opposite direction.

Right when Raph started to turn around, the creature shot forth its arm, injecting the poison into Raph's arm.

Raph felt a sting run up his arm and he let out a grunt as the sharp pain hit him. He then looked down to see something that looked like a needle injection mark.

"What did you do?" Raph asked, looking up at the creature. "What did you do to me?!"

"You'll find out soon enough." Fishface said with a snicker.

"What's _that_ suppose to mean?!" Donnie yelled, using his bō staff to push against the mutant fish. "Don't you _dare_ say my brother is in harms way!"

Fishface just snickered again and pushed Donnie out of the way. He then got a chance to punch him, right on his face. At that split second, the creature showed up behind the purple-banded turtle and picked him up around his torso.

"Hey!" Donnie shouted, struggling against the creature's grip. "Let me go!"

The creature then strongly slammed Donnie on the ground, the back of his head hitting the floor first. Donnie let out a soft groan and laid there for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling.

Donnie then slowly got up on his knees and felt the back of his head gingerly. When he brought his hand back up in front of his face, there was red on his fingers.

"You have a wound on your head, Don!" Raph shouted, slicing his sais towards the creature. This time, he hit it, causing the creature to let out a screech.

"Thanks, captain obvious!" Donnie shouted back, wincing as he felt his head start to throb. "Ow..."

Raph got thrown aside by the creature, and was having trouble getting back to it, due to Fishface getting in the way...again. "This is getting old, fish." Raph muttered, getting annoyed with this whole fight.

"And I am getting tired of not defeating you yet." Fishface replied, kicking Raph in the jaw.

Raph put his hand on his jaw, growling. His eyes narrowed and he desperately wanted this fight to be over. Raph then glanced up in horror when he saw Shredder jump down from a near-by ledge, right behind Donnie.

"Donnie, look out!" Raph yelled, trying to get in front of Donnie.

Donnie spun around, and, not having time to react, got attacked. The Shredder punched him in the chest and then punched him into the air and threw him onto the ground.

"You leave my brother alone!" Raph shouted, running up to Shredder and wanting to so badly kill him on the spot. But, Shredder was too quick for him. Shredder knocked Raph's legs from under him and kicked him in the head, causing Raph to slide a few feet away.

Leo looked over and saw his brothers fighting the Shredder and grew determined to get over there. He quickly looked over at Mikey, who had just raised to his feet. "We need to help Donnie and Raph!" Leo said, trying to get Tigerclaw out of the way. "The Shredder just joined in!"

"Oh man, dude!" Mikey said, getting worried. "How will we get past Tigerclaw?"

Leo stood there, thinking for several seconds. To be honest, he wasn't that sure what to do. He didn't have a clear plan in his head, and that made him feel like a failure. Finally, he let out a sigh, shrugged his shoulders, but then lightened up when he felt his fingers brush over one of his smoke bombs. He had a plan.

"I hope this works," Leo said, taking a smoke bomb from his belt. "As soon as we throw this smoke bomb, we _have_ to get over to our brothers. Okay?"

Mikey nodded and Leo threw down the smoke bomb, sending purple smoke flying in a thick cloud. Tigerclaw coughed and tried to wave away the smoke, but, when the smoke cleared, Leo and Mikey were gone. Tigerclaw looked around, soon realizing they were trying to fight his master.

Tigerclaw ran over to assist Shredder, but when he was about to attack, Shredder put his hand out, stopping him.

" _I_ will end this." Shredder said. "I will tell you when I need you."

Tigerclaw asked no questions and sat down where Fishface and Rahzar were.

The creature crept up behind Shredder, growling deeply. It hoped the poison would kick in soon.

The turtles prepared to attack, while Donnie prepared to use the mixture, since he now had a clear sight of the creature. Everyone looked at Donnie and Donnie nodded and quickly rushed forward, ready to throw the mixture onto the creature.

Then, something happened that caught him off guard; the creature sent its tentacle arms down, tripping Donnie in the process. Donnie then dropped the vial.

" _No!_ " Donnie screamed as he saw the vial shatter before his eyes. The mixture was gone. He then gasped in shock when the Shredder ran towards him, ready to attack. Donnie quickly jumped to his feet, doing a backflip to get out of the way of Shredder.

Donnie's brothers stepped in to help him, but, the creature soon blocked their path.

"Get past it!" Leo shouted, trying to run around it. He then knew he couldn't simply run around it when the creature hit him in the chest when he tried to pass by.

Donnie jumped out of the way of another one of Shredder's attacks, surprised he was so lucky right now. Then, he felt a strong punch on the back of his shell. He then got punched in the jaw, sending him upward. The creature then wrapped its arm around Donnie's ankle, lifting him into the air.

"Ugh, not _again_!" Donnie groaned, twisting and turning as he tried to escape. The wind then got knocked out of him as he got slammed on the ground. But, he also couldn't breathe due to the sudden pain in his ankle. The creature then threw Donnie aside, causing him to hit into a wall.

"Don't you _dare_ touch my brothers!" Leo growled, racing up to Shredder. His swords clanged against Shredder's arm pieces as Leo tried to hurt Shredder.

Meanwhile, Donnie brought himself into a sitting position as he saw a cut on his calf. "Great..." he muttered. "I sure hope I don't slow the team down."

It took him quite awhile to rise to his feet, since his ankle was throbbing. He sighed in an irritated tone, assuming he may have a twisted ankle as well.

Leo fought back against the Shredder, his brothers aiding him in case he grew weak. Raph and Mikey tackled Shredder, getting thrown off strongly onto the floor almost instantly.

Leo pushed against Shredder with his katanas, trying to shove Shredder back. But, he couldn't find enough strength to do it. The Shredder brought his arm up, about to bring the blade down on Leo's head, until Leo blocked with his other katana, determined not to let Shredder win.

Leo kicked Shredder's legs, making him stumble a little. This was the perfect chance to end this. He went forward and was about to point the blade at Shredder's head when he felt the creature wrap its arm around Leo's wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Leo yelled, and then let out a gasp of pain as the creature twisted his arm back, dislocating his shoulder. The creature then let him fall on the ground with a grunt.

Shredder was about to finish him, when Raph stepped in. He used his sais to trap Shredder's blades and he stared him in the face, his eyes full of fury.

"I've had enough of you..." Raph hissed as he tried to get the Shredder pushed aside.

"I bet you have, turtle." Shredder said, slicing his blades on his arm pieces, which Raph blocked.

Raph managed to dodge all of the attacks except one, which got him a cut on his arm by his hand. Raph pretty much seemed to ignore his injury, fighting with every ounce of energy he had. He was beginning to notice that he was becoming light headed.

Everyone was now on their feet, with Donnie having the hardest time standing. They were all determined to win this mission, even when they no longer had the mixture. Leo looked over at his brothers, a tired expression on his face.

"Alright guys," Leo said, getting into a stance. "Give it your all!"

Everyone then charged forward, fighting for a few more minutes. In the meantime, they all gained a few more injuries on their bodies. They all then stood in a line, panting and exhausted from all the fighting, and they all had cracks on their plastrons to match each other.

There was no point in going on; they all understood this, even Leo. They had to leave and get back to the Lair and they had to do it now.

They all looked up at Shredder, whose helpers all stood behind him smirking. They thought they were winning, but, I guess they were. Leo looked over at his brothers again and shook his head.

"We need to leave. _Now._ " Leo said, ready to grab a smoke bomb from his belt.

"Leave?!" Raph shouted, looking at his brother as if he were insane. " _When_ do you think we'll ever get another chance to fight this thing? What if the next time we see it is when it leads Shredder to the Lair?!"

"Raph, you do have a point." Leo said with a sigh. "But, we are all in no condition to continue. Whether you accept it or not, that's the truth."

Raph let out a loud sigh, dropping his hands to his sides. "Fine..." he agreed after awhile of thinking. "Get us out of here, Leo."

Leo instantly threw the smoke bomb on the ground, and when the smoke cleared, they were all gone. But, Shredder wasn't angry at their escape.

He let out a laugh, turning to his helpers. "All is according to plan," he said, smiling a sinister grin. "Now, all we have to do is find their home and destroy them once and for all..."

Donnie was surprised he was able to escape, due to his leg injury. But, surprisingly, he made it, and he was glad too. Now, he and his brothers were all slowly making their ways back home so they could get patched up and get a chance to relax.

They weren't running on the rooftops this time; they were all too weak to do something like that. Instead, they helped each other along; slowly but surely.

Leo then stopped his tired brothers and they all stood in a circle, facing each other.

"Is everyone doing okay?" Leo asked, glancing right at Raph, who seemed a bit out of it.

"I'm fine, dude." Mikey said with a tired chuckle.

"I'll live," Donnie said, getting the weight off his bad ankle. "I just have to patch myself up when we get back."

Everyone then looked at Raph, waiting to hear an answer from him.

"Raph?" Leo asked.

"Oh, huh?" Raph asked, turning towards his brothers. "I'm _completely_ fine, trust me."

"You sure about that?" Donnie asked, giving his brother a questioning look. "You seem a little unfocused."

"We're all pretty tired." Raph lied. "It's been a long day, huh?"

"Yeah," Leo sighed, staring up at the sky. "I guess it has..."

"Maybe we should get going." Donnie suggested. "The sooner we get home...the sooner we can get these wounds treated."

Leo nodded and continued moving. They were going to keep walking until they found a fire escape to climb down, since they couldn't jump across the rooftops. They'd then search for the nearest manhole and go through the sewers until they found their way home.

After another couple of minutes, they reached the end of the roof they'd been walking on and climbed down the fire escape. Leo made sure to help Donnie down so he wouldn't hurt his leg even more. Leo ignored his dislocated shoulder during the whole time. He was more concerned about his brothers.

Luckily, the alleyway the climbed down into had a manhole, so they used that to go down into the sewers. They trudged through the yucky water for quite some time before they realized it could take a little while to make it back home. In the meantime, Raph was feeling worse.

He felt even more lightheaded than before and he could feel a dull throb in his abdomen. He didn't want to admit it, but, he was getting worried...

Leo looked over his shoulder and saw Raph, who was lagging behind. "Raph?" Leo asked, starting to get concerned. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I told ya before, Leo." Raph answered in a weak time. "I _said_ I'm fine..."

"You _don't_ sound fine." Donnie added in.

"I said I was tired earlier!" Raph answered, getting angry and frustrated. "We're all just tired!"

"I think it's more than that, Raph." Leo said. "What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding _anything_!" Raph protested, raising his voice. "I'm just tired and I may be weak from blood-loss!"

Donnie sighed and stared forward. "Well," he said. "I assume we're almost home...Master Splinter can help patch us up."

"Good."

The turtles continued to walk for another five minutes or so before they came to the entrance of their home. During those five minutes, Raph felt worse and worse.

The pain in his abdomen worsened and his vision was growing slightly blurry and his hearing was echoing.

Raph didn't want to admit it, but, he knew he was in trouble, and he was worried. He watched his brothers go through the turnstiles into the Lair and he followed. Though, he stopped where he stood when he felt his breath grow heavy and quick and he could feel small beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Leo told Donnie to go sit down and prop his leg up and was about to go get the first-aid kit, until he noticed Raph had stopped. Mikey couldn't help but notice too, and he looked over at his older brother, concerned.

"Raph?" Leo asked. "Is something wrong?"

Raph didn't answer. All he could really hear was his quick heartbeat and his ragged breathing. Leo's voice sounded as if he were walking in a tunnel. Raph then groaned and grabbed his stomach, due to the pain getting worse.

"Raph?" Leo was growing very fearful for his brother now. He glanced at Donnie, who was now on his feet, leaning against his staff. He was prepared to do something of necessary, despite his injury.

Raph was seeing black spots in his vision and his head was swimming. He needed help, and he needed it now. He looked up at his brothers and they were shocked to see what Raph looked like; glassy eyes, heavy breathing...it was bad.

Raph wanted to say something, anything! Like: _Hey, it's fine, I'll shrug it off._ or _What? What are you all looking at?_ But, he was too weak to get anything out. He let out another groan as another wave of pain hit his abdomen and he knew he had to speak up. Now.

"...Help."

And that was all Raph managed to squeak out before he tumbled to the ground, followed by the gasps of his brothers.

 **Author's Note: Well, looks like things are getting crazy! Enjoy!**


	9. Chapter 9

The Mistake Ch. 9  
The Task At Hand

All of Raph's brothers gasped in horror as they saw their brother's limp body tumble to the ground, and they all stood there, shocked and speechless. They weren't expecting something like this. In fact, they never even knew about the poison.

Leo turned and looked at the first person he saw, which was Mikey, who was standing still with his eyes wide and his mouth agape. "Go get Master Splinter!" Leo frantically shouted as he waved his hand at Mikey. "Hurry!"

Mikey didn't object due to his shock. He just quickly nodded his head, turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. What was he going to tell Splinter? He had no idea what happened! The only thing he'd seen was his brother falling head first.

As the orange banded turtle ran into his Sensei's room, he was surprised to see his Sensei at the exit of his room already, and he was prepared to dash out.

"I know, Michelangelo." Splinter commented, trying to keep his voice calm and low. "I heard shouts. What has happened?"

"I-I don't know, Sensei!" Mikey replied, starting to grow frantic and scared. He he glanced back and forth, feeling sweat form on his forehead. "I...we just saw him fall and-"

Splinter put a hand out, stopping Mikey from speaking. "Do not fret, my son." Splinter said softly. "I will look over your brother."

"But Sensei." Mikey said, his bright blue eyes growing wide. "Do...do you think he'll be alright?" A shudder went through his body as he thought about his brother laying on the ground, dead. The thought of green eyes staring into nothing frightened him.

"Only time will tell, my son." Splinter replied. "Only time will tell..."

Mikey then watched Splinter walk out, his scared feeling still clawing at his brain. He shook it off, following his Sensei. He was going to face his fears and see his brother. But, when he came out, all he saw was Leo scolding Donnie, who was now on his feet.

"I _told_ you that you shouldn't get up!" Leo said, his voice rising slightly. "You'll just hurt your leg worse!"

"I _don't_ care about my leg, Leo!" Donnie shouted back, kneeling down next to Raph's head. "The only thing I care about at the moment, Leo, is my brother's safety! I'll fix my leg later! The only pain I feel is the pain for my family!"

Leo took a step back, holding his hands up in an act of surrender. "Okay, okay." he surrendered, letting out a sigh. "Just do whatever you can."

"Well, first off," Donnie started, shifting his gaze up to Mikey. "You two'll have to carry him to his room. We can't just leave him on the floor!"

Leo looked over at Mikey, who was waiting for his orders. "You get his feet, I'll hold his shoulders." Leo ordered, positioning his hands at Raph's shoulders as Mikey grabbed Raph's feet. At Leo's nod, they lifted Raph up and started to carry him to his room.

Splinter glanced over at Donnie before he started walking towards Raph's room, and Donnie knew why. He wanted him off of his leg. He wanted him to rest. He wanted him to heal. Of course Donnie knew what that stare of concern and disapproval meant. He knew it way too well.

 _Well,_ Donnie thought to himself as he limped to Raph's room. _He shouldn't worry...I'll be just fine!_

Donnie walked in just in time to see Mikey and Leo lowering Raph onto his bed. Almost instantly, Donnie tried to shove past everyone so he could do some tests. He got funny glances from his peers, but, it didn't change his mind. His mind was set on helping, and that was that.

"I'm going to check his pulse, first." Donnie mumbled as he placed two of his fingers on Raph's wrist, waiting. He then let out a loud sigh of relief as he felt a pulse. It was slow, but, Raph's heart was still beating.

"So I take it he's still alive, huh?" Leo questioned, crossing his arms. He knew what the answer would be before Donnie even had to answer. Donnie was sitting up straight and his eyes seemed to light up.

"You betcha!" Donnie replied with a slight grin. "It's pretty slow and faint...but, it's still beating. He's still living."

Donnie then looked over his wounds, which was mostly an array of smaller wounds across his arms and legs, as well as cracks in his plastron. The thing that concerned him a bit was the large cut on his hand. He then gasped as he noticed something else.

"Donnie?" Leo asked, his stomach twisting. He really hoped Donnie wasn't kidding around, since this was nothing to joke about. He stood and waited for Donnie to reply, and started growing impatient. "What is it?"

Donnie bit his lip, and cocked his head, studying what he was looking at more.

"Don?"

Donnie then glanced at Leo with a worried expression. He then turned Raph's arm to reveal the injection point on the top of his arm near his shoulder. Donnie inspected it, realizing it was caused by a pretty large needle.

Leo and Mikey stepped closer, taking a peek themselves. They didn't like what they saw.

"Looks like someone injected him with something, dude." Mikey clarified, pointing his finger towards the wound.

Donnie looked back and forth from Mikey and Leo, his eyebrows arching up in fright. "I'll...I'll be right back." he murmured softly as he grabbed his bō staff and leaned against it.

"What are you needing?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"A syringe." Donnie stated before he hobbled out of the room. He didn't even bother to use his make-shift cane much; he just hopped about on one foot.

As he entered his lab, he looked around for the drawer that would contain such a thing. As soon as he found the right shelf, he dropped to his knees, ignoring the pain shooting through his injured leg. He then rummaged through the drawer, feeling around with his fingers.

Finally, he found a syringe with a small container at the end of the handle to hold the blood he was going to draw. He let out a soft exhale of relief and closed the drawer quietly. He then shakily rose to his feet, with the help of his staff. Quickly, he ran back to Raph's room so he could draw the blood.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked cautiously as he saw Donnie approach. He saw Donnie look up at him with a baffled look on his face.

"I have to draw blood." Donnie replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "I know, the needle is...some what large, but, this has to be done. Raph here is showing signs to me that something may be in his body, like a chemical or a poison."

"Oh really?" Leo asked. "Did you see anything at the battle?"

"I did, actually." Donnie answered, preparing the needle. "While we were fighting, I saw something. Out of the corner of my eye, it looks as if the creature poked him or something." He then shook his head, letting out a muffled sigh in the process. "I can tell you for certain that most likely wasn't just a teasing poke; it must've injected him with a harmful chemical or poison of some kind.

"Not exactly sure what kind of poison or chemical this would be. However, the side effects he showed were dizziness-I could tell just by looking at him- and he clutched his abdomen, which shows signs on abdominal pain and he blacked out. Along with that, his heart beat is very slow."

"Well, go ahead and draw the blood." Leo replied with a sigh. "The sooner we find out what's inside him the better."

Donnie dipped his head in reply and tied a rubber band around Raph's arm and felt around for the place to inject the needle. Slowly, he inserted the some-what large needle into Raph's skin and started drawing the blood, which flowed into the small container. "Heh...you'd be pretty mad at me if you were awake, Raph." Donnie muttered softly. He then glanced over at Leo. "Could you get me a cotton ball and a bandage real quick?"

Leo nodded, already understanding what the cotton ball and bandage were for. He ran off to Donnie's lab, digging around until he found what his brother had requested. He then quickly ran back to Raph's room, handing his brother the items.

Donnie mumbled a thank you and slowly started to pull the needle out, cringing slightly as he did so. He really hated inserting and taking out needles; it was quite disturbing at times, especially now since the needle wasn't tiny. Immediately after he took out the needle from Raph's skin, he placed the cotton ball on the injection point-which was right above his elbow guard-and put the bandage over the ball of cotton to keep in place.

"That should do it." Donnie softly said as he carefully detached the tiny container from the syringe. "I just need to run some tests now to see the exactly what is in his body...and do many other things as well...like creating a new mixture for that darn creature."

Everyone watched Donnie trudge to his lab, clearly frazzled by all the work on his plate. They were starting to become worried. They didn't want their brother to over work himself. That just wouldn't be right. So, Leo decided to follow him, just to see if he needed assistance of any kind.

Mikey and Splinter were left in Raph's room and the two were silent, and the silence was making things pretty awkward. Mikey looked up at his Sensei, who looked back down at him. "I'll watch Raph if you want me to, Splinter." Mikey offered, pulling up a chair and sitting down in it. "I don't mind."

Splinter stroked his beard casually for a few seconds before he gave his youngest son a reply. "Very well." he replied as he turned his back on his son to leave. "Call for me if you need assistance."

"I will." Mikey answered as he rested his elbows on his knees. He put a small smile on his face, trying to assure his father that everything would be just fine. Splinter returned the small smile and then left the room, leaving Mikey with the duty of watching over his brother. For now.

"Need any help?"

Donnie jumped slightly at the sudden voice that filled the room, only to soon realize it only came from Leo. He let out a sigh and nodded, signaling to his brother that he was allowed to enter. Donnie heard Leo's footsteps and then could sense his brother behind me.

"And, to answer your question, Leo, I don't exactly need help at the moment." Donnie muttered as he looked under his microscope, his tongue sticking out in concentration. "I'm just looking at Raph's blood sample."

"Oh, umm...cool." Leo replied awkwardly as he shifted his weight to his other side. Things were silent for a moment or two, which made things even more awkward, until Donnie cleared his throat. "Am I bothering you?" Leo questioned, feeling like he was intruding his brother's privacy. "Because I wasn't intending on doing that."

"No, you're not." Donnie answered softly as he focused on the task at hand. "I just..." He then fell silent, which made Leo start to get his bad vibes again. Donnie falling silent as he was running tests was usually not a good thing at all. He either had fallen asleep, lost his train of thought or, in the worst case, found something wrong. Donnie wasn't asleep, so only two options remained.

"Donnie? What is it?"

Donnie looked back at Leo, his eyes slightly wider then they were seconds earlier. He gestured towards the microscope with his thumb and Leo automatically knew that he had found something, and it wasn't a good thing.

"I found out what type of poison is in Raph's system." Donnie explained as he turned his back towards Leo again.

"Well? What is it?" Leo asked after a few seconds of quiet. "What is in his system?"

"He has Oleander poisoning." Donnie concluded as he turned a knob on his microscope. "That's according to what the cells look like...unless I'm getting confused with something else." Donnie pushed his feet on the ground, wheeling his chair over to a book that was placed on a shelf. Quickly, he thumbed through a few pages until he found the page he was looking for. "Page thirteen...the cells look like this." Donnie explained as he pointed to the picture in the book.

Leo stared at the picture, clearly confused. He didn't really know anything about cells other than they were the basic building block of life. Seeing these cells before him didn't seem mind clearing to him. In fact, he didn't see anything wrong with them. But, then again, he wasn't entirely sure what a cell looked like in the first place.

Donnie didn't bother to explain, for he knew he would only puzzle his brother even more. So, instead, he just continued to look at the cells, studying them closely.

"What's Oleander poisoning?" Leo wondered aloud as he waited for Donnie to turn back around in his seat. He sure hoped this type of poison wasn't deadly.

"Orleander poisoning happens when the nectar from this plant gets into someone's system." Donnie clarified as he closed the cover of the large book with a loud thud. "Somehow, this stuff got into Raph's body, and I think I know who caused it."

"Baxter Stockman?" Leo guessed, exasperation creeping into his voice as he remembered the mutant fly.

"Ding ding ding! Winner!" Donnie joked, making his voice sound like a television game show host's. "He must've mixed together a poison using this as the main ingredient. After all, I see something else...and it looks like a very weak poison that just causes small side effects like dizziness and fatigue."

"So, _Stockman_ did this, huh?"

"Most likely." Donnie replied. "After all, he's the only one that knows how to do such things."

"So, can we cure Raph or what?" Leo asked, starting to become a bit agitated. If there was no way to cure Raph, then what? Leo sure didn't want to see his brother die. None of them did. They would all hate for something as tragic as that to just suddenly happen, all because of some doltish slime thing.

"Oh, don't worry, we can." Donnie assured him, putting his hands up. "All I have to do is make an antidote...and the mixture to get rid of that creature..." Donnie then let out an irritated sigh and rested his hands on his forehead. " _And_ , I wanted to see if the Shredder was up to anything...you know, spy on him...buy us some time!"

"Could you use the spy roach?"

"Rather not. Last time I used one of them, it got ran over by a taxi on the way to TCRI." He then let out a groan, resting his head on his work table. "I have so much on my plate...I'm going _berserk_ with all of this!"

"Hey, calm down, Don." Leo spoke softly as he walked up to his brother quietly. "Don't get yourself worked up!"

"Yeah! But Leo! I tripped! I spilled the mixture! I have to redo **every bit of it**!"

"Do you want me to help?" Leo offered, his hands hovering over Donnie's shell, not sure if he should try to comfort him or not. He didn't really know what to do in these kind of situations. They were usually pretty tough for him to handle.

"But how can you help, Leo?" Donnie's eyes shifted up towards Leo as he turned his head towards him, his eyes wide and pleading for answers.

"I...I don't know!" Leo stammered, throwing his hands in the air. "Why didn't you just use the mixture at some other time?" Leo immediately regretted what was just spoken out of his mouth. He knew he only caused more trouble than good. But, at the same time, he was some-what glad it came out. If Donnie used the mixture earlier, then the creature would be totally out of the picture. But, the more Leo thought, the more he realized how selfish he sounded.

"Well, _excuse_ me!" Donnie replied back, his voice rising. "Sorry I was in the middle of fighting the Shredder! Do you _seriously_ think I could've gotten a direct shot of that creature in the middle of being tossed about in the air?!"

Leo grew sorry for his brother as he saw angry tears form in the genius's dark eyes. "Don, I'm sorry." Leo muttered, stooping down so he was looking at his brother on the eyes. "I wasn't thinking about my words." He then paused for a moment before speaking again. "What do you want to build to spy on Shredder?"

"I-I don't know!" Donnie stuttered, staring at Leo with a look of disbelief. "I just told you I was busy! I'm **too** busy, as a matter of fact!"

Leo glanced about the room, trying to find some sort of object to spark his creativity. He then noticed blue prints laying on the ground in the corner, completely abandoned. He casually walked over, bent down and picked up the blue print, unfolding it to see a picture of a mini drone inside. "Donnie!" Leo exclaimed, holding up the blueprint triumphantly. "What about a drone? That could work!"

"A drone? _Seriously_ , Leo?" Donnie questioned, a glare forming on his narrow face. "Do you _know_ how long that'll take me?! Hours!"

"I know, I know." Leo mumbled, sitting cross-legged on the ground. " _I'm_ gonna build it and _you_ can tell me what supplies I need."

"You'd help?" Donnie asked in surprise.

"Of course I would!" Leo replied, rising to his feet. "Anything to help you out."

"Oh my...thank you, Leo!" Donnie cried out, a smile spreading across his face.

"I'll help you, only on one condition."

Donnie could feel his mood drop instantly. "What's that?"

"We're going to have Splinter look over our wounds, especially yours. You need to get patched up. Everyone does."

"Raph does too." Donnie uttered softly. "He has some wounds that need checking."

"It's settled, then." Leo said, handing Donnie his staff. "Come on. Let's go."

Raph wandered about the long halls of Shredder's lair, looking left and right. He was looking for one thing in particular; the Shredder himself.

Raph looked around, trying to find the Shredder's throne room. He knew he was close. But how close? He then grew nervous when he saw a white haze fill the hall.

"What's this?" he questioned, his brow furrowing as the fog floated around his ankles. The fog then grew thicker and thicker, until Raph couldn't see more than a couple feet in front of him.

"What's going on?!" he shouted into the fog. He then noticed it starting to clear, and he was relieved. But, he grew surprised when he noticed he was no longer in the halls but in the place he wanted to be; the throne room.

Shredder stood a few feet in front of Raph, his arms crossed across his chest. He gave Raph a cold glare and continued to stare at him for what seemed like an eternity, his cold eyes seeming to stare into his soul.

"Hello, Mutant." Shredder spat, not changing his position.

"How did I get here?" Raph asked. He wanted answers from this monster and he needed them right then.

"There is no answer for that." Shredder replied, shifting his weight slightly.

"Where are my brothers?" Raph then asked, finally realizing he was alone as he looked around the room.

Shredder let out a sinister chuckle that sent a shiver down Raph's spine. His stomach twisted in fear. He didn't like that laugh. Not one bit.

Shredder then opened his fist and three masks- one blue, one purple and one orange- fluttered to the ground, landing on the floor, with the Shredder not even bothering to pick them up again.

Raph's eyes widened in horror and he stepped forward and picked up the masks. He stared at them, a mixture of feelings overtaking him;anger, confusion, sadness. Before his eyes, they all of a sudden started getting blood spots on them, as if by magic. The crimson color dyed the ends of the mask tails, making it appear ombré some-what. Anger coursed through Raph's body and he clenched his fist with the masks now in his hand.

"What have you done to my brothers?!" Raph shouted, his voice filled with rage. " _Where are they?!_ "

"Your brothers won't be coming." Shredder simply replied, no remorse of any kind showing in his voice.

" _What's that suppose to mean?!_ "

"Your brothers are gone." Shredder answered as he laughed, his laughter echoing through Raph's mind. "And their screams were like music to my ears."

" _No!_ " Raph screamed, his eyes narrowing in anger. "You _monster!_ " His eyes turned completely white in his rage. He was really furious now, ready to kill Shredder and show his revenge.

Shredder let out a deep chuckle and let his arms drop to his sides. " _You're_ the monster." Shredder stated. "People run away from you and scream."

Raph ground his teeth in frustration and charged towards Shredder, ready to strike. With a "poof" Shredder disappeared into thin air.

Raph looked around, trying to find his enemy. "Come out!" Raph shouted. "Come out you _coward!_ " He then quickly tied the masks of his brothers around his arm, just so he wouldn't lose them. He then took out his sais from his belt, waiting.

"Come out!" Raph yelled again, gritting his teeth.

"Foolish..." Raph heard Shredder's voice echoing off the walls, which made him even angrier. "You think you can save the day? _You really believe your brothers aren't dead?!_ "

Raph turned and saw a broken bō staff, nunchucks with the chain laying to the side, and two katana blades; one of them in half. Raph shook his head but could feel angry tears forming in his bright green eyes.

" _No!_ " he shouted again, forcing his tears not to fall. "It _isn't_ true!"

"Face the truth..." Shredder's voice echoed. "You'll die just like your brothers."

Shredder then appeared behind Raph in a split second. Raph turned around, and, right as his eyes locked on Shredder's, Shredder striked.

Raph opened his eyes, panting heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead. He glanced about the room, frightened by his surrounds. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was. He let out a groan as he attempted to sit up, which obviously didn't work out.

Mikey heard his brother's moan and looked over at him, relieved to see him finally awake. "Hey, Raph." Mikey softly spoke, a soft smile appearing on his face. It then quickly faded when he saw how aghast Raph looked. "Something wrong, dude? Looks like you had a nightmare."

"That's 'cause I did..." Raph weakly replied, as he looked down at his bandages. Thanks to Leo, everyone had recently been patched up, bandages wrapped around their wounds. Raph was quite surprised to see how many bandages he had wrapped around his arms. But, he assumed his brothers could possibly be worse off than him.

"Oh really?" Mikey curiously asked, leaning forward a bit. "What was it about?" Mikey frowned slightly when he saw Raph hesitate, but, he kept talking anyway. "Come on! You can tell me _anything_ , dude!"

Raph stayed silent for a few more minutes before he was convinced enough to speak. "You...you all died." Raph explained faintly. "I was the last one standing...I couldn't help you... The Shredder killed you all..."

"Dude, it's okay!" Mikey assured Raph as he smiled, showing his red-banded brother that he was fine. "It's okay! It was only a dream! We're all okay."

Raph sat there, breathing heavily for a few more moments, trying to calm himself. That dream just seemed too real, too eerie. He still had that gut twisting feeling from the dream that still lingered in his mind. Flashbacks still replayed in his brain, reminding him of every bit of it.

"It's okay!" Mikey repeated, sitting back in his seat. He would do whatever it took to help his brother feel secure. He didn't want Raph to keep remembering this nightmare that he had dreamt. He thought about asking Donnie about what to do, but, he knew that he probably shouldn't bother him since he had so much work to do as it was. Now wasn't the right time. He had to deal with this on his own.

Raph was feeling light headed and he saw color filling his vision. He let out another groan, squeezing his eyes shut. "I feel like I'm gonna pass out..." Raph groaned, holding his head in his hand.

"I'll be right here." Mikey said, nodding his head. "I promise, bro."

Raph gave him a small grin and then he slipped into unconsciousness, leaving Mikey to watch his unconscious brother again. He would ask one of his brothers to take over soon.

A few hours later, Leo was almost finished with the mini drone and Donnie had finished the antidote for Raph, ready to start on the mixture to destroy the creature for good. As the purple-banded turtle mixed together chemicals, he glanced briefly every thirty seconds or so, just to see if his brother was messing up the project or not. Luckily, Leo was actually doing a decent job, thanks to some instruction by Donnie.

"Looking good, Leo." Donnie complimented as he measured out a liquid into a beaker. "You're actually putting it together correctly!"

"Well, that's good to hear." Leo replied, letting out a frustrated groan as he tried to attach a piece to the outside part of the drone. He was trying to add in a circle shaped object, which would hold the tiny propellers. "Good thing I'm almost finished."

"And I think I'm almost done with the...first batch of the mixture." Donnie mumbled softly as he continued to mix the chemicals together. "I'll have to make a second vial after this one..."

"Wish I could help." Leo added, focusing hard on the task at hand. "But, I don't want to blow this place up."

Donnie let out a soft chuckle as he finished mixing together the chemicals. "Done!" he said joyfully as he held up the vial. "And since I'm making a duplicate, it shouldn't take as long...I hope."

Leo then smiled, proud that he finally got the metal circle on the sides of the drone. All he had to do now was add the propellers. "You weren't kidding when you said this would take a long time." Leo chuckled.

"Told you." Donnie replied as he picked out the chemicals for the second time. "Stuff like this takes time, Leo. This is one reason why I'm always in my lab for so long."

Leo nodded slightly as he tried to attach the propellers to the other side of the drone. He then finally got them to attach and a smile formed on his face. Glancing around, he found the tiny camera and microphone that would go on top of the drone so they could see and hear everything that was going on. "You just about done with that mixture, Donnie?" Leo questioned as he glanced upward.

"Just about." Donnie answered as he measured out a blue liquid. "It should only be a few more minutes."

About ten minutes later, Donnie finished his task. He let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he was finished with all this work he put himself into. "Are you finished with the drone?" Donnie asked Leo as he spun his chair around to face his older brother.

"Almost." Leo responded as he attached the camera to the top of the drone while he looked at the blueprint. "I think I'm finished."

"That's good to hear." Donnie said with a small smile. "Thanks for helping me out. All of this got done a lot quicker."

"It wasn't a problem." Leo answered as he rose to his feet.

"Well, I should give the antidote to Raph." Donnie announced as he stood up from his chair. He then picked up the syringe he put the first dose of the antidote in and started towards the exit. "The sooner I give it to him the better."

"Wait!" Leo called out, festering towards the drone in his hand. "What about the drone?"

"Don't worry! I haven't forgotten about it!" Donnie answered, stopping in his tracks and turning his head towards his brother. "We'll see what Shredder is up to tonight."

Leo smirked, growing determined. "Alright." he replied, confidence showing in his facial features. "Tonight it is."


	10. Chapter 10

**The Mistake Ch. 10**  
 **I Need Revenge**

Everyone gathered in Raph's room that night, just so they could keep an eye on their sleeping brother as they watched the drone's camera on Donnie's T-phone. They were all sitting on the ground, their shells resting against the side of Raph's bed. Every now and again, either Leo or Mikey would check on Raph, since Donnie was busy keeping watch on the T-phone.

"Anything yet?" Leo asked as he looked around his shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time. He was worrying too much. He could tell, especially since he had checked on his younger brother ten times in the past few minutes. He and Mikey were both constantly keeping an eye out. They didn't want anything awful to happen again.

"No," Donnie sighed as he kept his eyes glued to the small screen on the phone. "It will probably still be a few minutes until the drone even reaches where Shredder is at. Then, we have to figure out which side of the building the lab is at."

Leo scooted closer to Donnie just so he could get a better look at the screen. He frowned as he saw how slow the drone was moving. "Gosh, Don. This thing is pretty slow." Leo pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Donnie answered, not taking his eyes off the screen. "If it were going fast, you wouldn't be able to catch any details, now would you?"

Leo stayed silent, not sure what kind of comeback to make for Donnie's statement. Raph would know. But, Raph was still asleep. Leo then glanced over at Mikey again, who was peeking over his shoulder at Raph. Leo let out a short laugh, slightly starling the orange-banded turtle. "You know, you don't have to check on him so much." Leo said as a tiny amused grin appeared on his face.

"Yeah, I know." Mikey replied softly, shifting his gaze to his blue-banded brother. He pulled one of his legs up to his chest, keeping the other stretched out. "I'm still pretty worried." His gaze then fell off of Leo and onto the hard floor.

"Yeah..." Leo said quietly. He tilted his head back slightly and lifted his eyes up to the ceiling, letting out a muffled, defeated sounding sigh. "We all are worried."

Mikey looked over at the phone Donnie held, instantly getting bored with the sight of massive buildings and tall skyscrapers going by costively. He then jumped slightly when he heard a low moan coming from Raph and turned just in time to see his brother stirring slightly in his sleep. His head turned to the side and his good arm rested on top of his plastron.

"He's waking up." Mikey whispered excitedly as he and Leo watched their brother stir. Leo then turned back around and motioned to Mikey to do the same. After all, Raph would not want to wake up to see two pairs of eyes watching him.

They then heard another groan escape Raph's lips and his eyes started to flutter open. He glanced around the room, surprised to see everyone sitting by his bed. He then quickly realized when he saw Donnie with his T-phone. He then looked down at his bad arm to see another bandage was put in a few spot. "Did you inject me?" he asked hoarsely.

"Don't worry, Raph." Donnie replied, not turning towards him. "I had to inject the antidote. It was only the first dose, though. The next will be injected tomorrow."

"Whoopee." Raph replied sarcastically. He rubbed his fingers on his temples, obviously uncomfortable due to a headache.

"Hi, Raph!" Mikey said quietly, his voice filled with happiness. He turned towards Raph with a bright smile on his face. "Glad you're awake!"

"Wish I was still asleep..." Raph grumbled as he continued to rub his temples.

"Do you have a headache?" Leo asked as he turned his head as well.

"Yeah." Raph mumbled softly. "It sucks." He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, trying to relieve the pounding in his head. His eyes then snapped open when he heard Donnie let out a gasp of joy. "What's goin' on?" Raph questioned as he moved his head slightly so he could see Donnie's screen.

"The drone finally arrived at TCRI." Donnie answered, leaning in closer to his screen, wanting to catch every detail. He then stopped the drone so he could determine which side of the building Baxter Stockman's lab would be at. "Where would the lab be?"

"Not sure." Leo answered, peeking at the screen again. "I think it may be on the right side, but, I'm not sure."

"I guess we'll just have to see." Donnie replied as he controlled the drone so that it flew to the right. It flew slowly and quietly until it reached the middle of the right side of the building.

"How do we get in, dude?" Mikey wondered aloud as he stared at the screen, his blue eyes wide. "We can't just break in the window!" He then paused and a smirk appeared on his face. "Or maybe you can! Make it like one of those dramatic entrances or something!"

"Can't." Donnie sighed, glancing back at Mikey briefly. "They'd hear the glass shatter." Donnie looked around the screen as the drone hovered just a few feet to the right of a window. Donnie had to admit, making a dramatic entrance would be cool, but, it would also be foolish. They'd get caught and the Shredder would know it was them. The end. That's when Donnie spotted a crack in the wall, just large enough for the mini drone to fly through.

"I think I found a place for the drone to go through." Donnie said, his voice filling with relief. Mikey and Leo leaned in closer to watch the events unfold. Raph, however stayed put, hoping his brothers would give him some updates on what was happening. "Almost there..." Donnie muttered quietly as he flew the drone through the crack. He tried to keep it steady as possible since the edges of the crack were so close.

Finally, the drone got in, and everyone couldn't help but smile. The drone entered a room, which was tenebrous and empty. Everyone instantly knew they weren't in the lab. Donnie looked over the surroundings, his eyes quickly getting adjusted to the dark atmosphere.

"Where is it at, Donnie?" Mikey asked as he grew confused. Something didn't seem right, but, he just assumed it was just knowing that the lab was in a different location.

"Not sure." Donnie responded as he turned the drone. "But, I believe the lab may just be a door down." He then looked around again, trying to find a way for the drone to escape the room. Unfortunately, the only way was to go back outside, which Donnie didn't want to do, since there wasn't a way into the lab itself. Donnie let out a sigh, looking around again just to see if there was a crack in the wall or anything.

Finally, he spotted something in the far corner. A crack hidden behind a box.

"That could work." Donnie mumbled as he steered the drone towards the crack. He leaned in closer, adjusting his bad leg on the pillow it was set on in the process, ignoring the ache in his ankle. He moved the drone around the box and up to the crack in the wall instantly. Then, he flew it through, just like he had previously.

"What if they see the drone, D?" Mikey asked, starting to grow nervous. He bit his lip and watched the screen closely. "What if they hear it?"

"Relax, they won't." Donnie assured him as he flew the drone into the lab. "The drone is dark, so it blends in with the dark atmosphere. And, the drone is silent, so, they most likely won't see or hear anything."

"Sweet!" Mikey exclaimed, a smile forming on his face. "We're like spies or something!"

Donnie let out a faint chuckle and then stayed quiet as he concentrated on getting the drone to see Baxter Stockman. Finally, he found an area where the drone was hidden, but, at the same time, they could still see the mutant fly. Donnie hit the microphone button on his control device and then sat and watched.

"Eczzzellent." the mutant fly buzzed as he hovered around the creature. "I bet Mazzzter Shredder will love these updatezzz."

"Updates?" Donnie asked, listening carefully.

"New poizzzon. Ah, yezzz. This will be a succezzz." The fly then landed on the ground, staring up at the creature as his head twitched. "Now, it will take zzzome time to get the poizzzon ready. Be prepared to show uzzz where the turtlezzz abide."

"That creature is going to show Shredder where we live!" Leo cried out, worry washing over him. It would be a disaster if Shredder found them. They couldn't afford another fight with someone like him. They were all already injured enough.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Raph said sarcastically, his head still on his pillow. "What's that idiot fly saying now?" Everyone then fell silent so that they could hear what Baxter Stockman was saying.

"However, it most likely won't be ready until tomorrow. Azzz zzzoon as the poizzzon is prepared, you know what to do." The mutant fly then turned, putting a notebook back on his desk. "Do you underzzzstand?"

The thing "nodded" and Baxter buzzed with delight.

"I think we may have heard enough." Leo said, giving Donnie the signal to bring the drone back to the Lair. Right when Donnie started to turn the drone around, the sound of a door opening could be heard through the microphone. Leo's eyes widened and he put his hand on Donnie's shoulder quickly before Donnie could steer it any further. "Hang on." Leo cried out, looking at the screen as Donnie stopped turning the drone. "Turn back around. See who came in."

"Whatever you say." Donnie mumbled in reply as he turned the drone back around. As soon as he got it turned back in the direction he wanted, they all saw Shredder walking in the room, clearly impatient.

"Stockman." Shredder growled as he barged into the lab.

"Y-yezzz, Mazzzter?" Baxter asked sheepishly as he slumped down flighty in his seat.

"Why isn't the new poison finished yet?" Shredder demanded, slamming his fist onto the work table, causing Baxter to cringe. "It must be done!"

"I-I underzzzstand, Mazzzter." the mutant fly stuttered as he stared into Shredder's angry eyes. "But, Mazzzter, it will be finished tomorrow! That'zzz a guarantee."

"Tomorrow morning." Shredder berated, his eyes narrowing with rage. "It has better be finished by then. Or else. And you don't want to know what happens." Shredder felt no sympathy as he saw the mutant fly tremble where he sat. In fact, he smiled slightly.

Leo looked at Donnie as Shredder stood above Baxter Stockman. "Now would be a good time to leave." Leo advised, watching as Donnie started to turn the drone around one hundred and eighty degrees so that it faced the wall they entered the room from. Donnie steered it carefully, or, at least he tried to. He had to get the drone through the crack again. Donnie's tongue stuck out as he concentrated, his target so close. That's when disaster struck.

The side of the drone hit the edge of the wall ever so slightly, but, apparently Shredder heard it hit. His head turned expeditiously and his eyes showed even more rage than before. He then started storming towards the mini drone.

"Go, Donnie! Go!" Leo shouted, his voice filling with urgency. "GO!"

Donnie flew the drone faster, not even bothering to miss the edges of the crack in the wall. He made it through the first crack, still listening to Shredder's thundering, angry footsteps getting closer to the area. Donnie zoomed the drone through the room they first entered in and then flew it through the crack, relieved to have made it out without Shredder dismantling the poor drone.

Donnie stood there panting marginally with his eyes wide as he kept the drone moving forward. He then made the drone go faster, just so no one could catch it. "I have to make it go faster so that if Shredder sends his assistants out, they'll have a harder time catching it."

"Is this as speedy as it goes?" Mikey asked, tilting his head to the side. "I've seen a snail go faster, dude."

Donnie let out a frustrated groan and drooped his head in defeat. "They'll catch us...they'll track the signal." Donnie mumbled despairingly. "They'll find us sooner..."

"There's gotta be another way, Don!" Leo said, trying to help Donnie get better hopes. "Come on! Let's all think of something!" Leo then heard everyone go quiet, the room freakishly silent. All he could hear was the inhales and exhales of his brothers. Finally, the silence was broken by a huff from Raph.

"There's only one thing I can think of," Raph said, shifting his gaze over to Leo and Mikey, since Donnie's shell was facing him. "And that one thing is to land it."

"Land it?" Donnie asked, his voice quivering slightly at the thought. He didn't want to land it. After all, he didn't want to hurt Leo's feelings. He'd worked so hard on this project, and Donnie knew he was proud of it. Landing the drone could mean he could find it torn apart if he went back for it. Donnie's eyes then widened slightly as he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder, and he turned his head to see Leo.

"It's okay, Donnie." Leo said, a small smile appearing on his face. "Sure, I'm proud of building that drone. But, I'm more concerned about keeping my family safe."

"I'm glad you're okay with it, Leo." Donnie said, giving his brother a small, sad grin. "I'll land it then, and shut it off, just so they can't track the connection."

"Good idea." Leo replied, taking his hand off of his brother's shoulder. "Just do what you need to do."

Donnie dipped his head in reply and then turned his head back to his T-phone. He steered the drone slowly onto a rooftop, hiding it behind a satellite dish, so he'd know where to find it if he wanted to get it again at one point. Then, he turned off the controller, ending the connection with the drone and them.

"You did the right thing, Donnie. Don't worry." Leo assured him.

Everyone then sat in silence for the longest time, and, everyone had to admit, they all wished someone would speak, though, they didn't want it to be them. Finally, Mikey spoke up.

"So what now?" he asked, glancing at everyone. He instantly knew it was a stupid question, due to the odd stares he got from his brothers.

"What do you mean "what now?"" Raph asked, staring at Mikey as if he had two heads. "We can't do anything."

"Mikey, we can't do anything right now." Donnie answered, letting out a soft sigh. "We are all too injured to do anything."

Raph cleared his throat, not wanting to listen to the conversation anymore. He didn't want to admit he was injured, but, he knew he was. He sure wasn't going to say it out loud, though. He wished he could go up to the surface and get that stupid slime thing. But, he was stuck in the sewers for awhile, and he hated that with all his heart.

"This sucks." Raph grumbled, draping his good arm over his eyes. "I can't just rest here all day!"

"Sure you can." Donnie answered, rising to his feet and turning towards his stubborn brother, a stern look implanted on his face. "And you will."

"And where have I seen this kind of situation before?" Raph asked, propping himself up, ignoring his pain the best he could, though, he heard a groan escape from him. "Oh yeah! A few days ago when that _thing_ tried to kill me! And that creature could be on its way any hour now, and you want me to just lay here and _rest_?!"

"Sorry, Raph." Donnie said, his voice showing very little sympathy. "But, you have to rest here."

"Yeah right." Raph huffed, removing his arm from his face and narrowing his green eyes in anger. "You can't tell me what to do, Don."

"Yes, but I can."

Raph jumped slightly at the sound near the door and cranes his neck to see Splinter, very unhappy.

"Sensei...?" Raph asked, his eyes growing slightly wider. "How...how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear your conversation, Raphael." Splinter answered as he traipsed into the room. Donnie scooted to the side to leave Splinter room to stand by Raph's head. Splinter stood there, staring at Raph for quite a long time. "Raphael," Splinter finally said. "You must do what your brothers are telling you. They know best."

"But Sensei!" Raph protested, trying to wide a wince as a pang of pain hit his abdomen again, though, he wasn't very successful. "I need to kill that thing! I NEED my revenge!"

"Revenge is an awful thing to crave, my son." Splinter said calmly as his gaze hardened slightly. "It means you want to hurt someone on purpose. A ninja must never hurt someone just because they wish to. You must have a reason."

"But this is a reason!" Raph chocked out as the pain slowly faded away.

"True." Donnie added in. "We...we were planning on getting rid of it anyway, Sensei. If we keep it alive, we could get hurt again."

Splinter stroked his beard, looking between each of his sons. "You all will be resting for a while." He glanced at Mikey first, since he was the first turtle he saw. "Michelangelo, you must rest your arm. Do not use it."

"So...I can't play video games?" Mikey asked sheepishly.

"No." Splinter answered sternly.

Mikey's eyes grew wide and his shoulders slumped at the thought of no video games. "Dang it!" he pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.

Splinter then looked over at Donnie next. "Donatello, I want you to stay off your leg." Splinter said, hoping Donnie wouldn't protest. "Try not to walk as much as possible."

"I can't walk about at all?" Donnie asked, his mouth opening slightly.

"Yes," Splinter replied, continuing to strike his long beard. "But keep weight off of your leg, my son." Next, he turned to Leo. "Leonardo, be careful with your shoulder."

"Hai, Sensei..." Leo replied respectively, though he was still bummed that he wouldn't get to train as easily. He didn't dare object about the command, though.

Finally, Splinter turned to Raph, prepared to protest upon protest from the red-banded turtle. "Raphael, you must rest. Let the poison leave your system, and let Donatello help you in any way possible."

"Sensei, we all can't rest!" Raph objected. "We can't!"

"And why's that?" Splinter asked, raising an eyebrow with a unamused stare.

"Sensei," Leo said sheepishly, looking up at his Sensei nervously. "Raph is right this time...We all spied on Shredder...and...well, he's sending that creature out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow night, most likely." Donnie added. "Plus, we can't let it find our home! We have to go topside and defeat it there!"

Splinter thought about this for a few moments, taking his hand off of his beard and resting it on his cane. He didn't really want to send his sons up to the surface when they were still injured. It would be foolish. At the same time, he knew that his sons knew how to stop this creature, and he didn't. Finally, the mutant rat let out a sigh and looked towards Leo.

"Very well." he said, still uncomfortable with the situation. "But, I will be assisting you three."

"Three?" Raph asked, starting to grow irritated. He thought that it would most likely be him that Splinter was going to leave out of the mission.

"Yes, Raphael." Splinter answered, turning towards him. "You will be staying down here and resting."

" _What?!_ " Raph exploded, bolting up into a siting position again. "What about Donnie, huh? He can barely walk!"

"Raphael!" Splinter yelled in reply, his voice growing sterner as he narrowed his eyes. "You will be resting. That is an order."

"But Sensei-"

"No buts, Raphael!"

Raph let out a frustrated sigh, letting himself slam back down on his bed, which he realized quickly was a big mistake, since his head throbbed and the wounds on his body were now starting to hurt. "You're gonna leave me down here? Alone? With that creature on the loose?! Seriously?!" Raph shouted, throwing out his hands for extra emphasis.

"Maybe April and Casey can come over." Donnie suggested. "They can help watch him." He didn't seem to react much when Raph gave him a nasty glare. He just kept speaking. "I need to give him his antidote in the early afternoon. So, that way, April and Casey don't have to deal with it."

"No way!" Raph retorted, shaking his head once. "I'm _not_ staying down here! I _need_ to see that creature fall!"

"You aren't going!" Splinter said strictly. "You will stay down here and let the poison leave your system." He then turned his back and started heading out the door. "This decision is final!"

Leo watched his Sensei go into the kitchen, and he wondered what he was doing in there. He walked up to Splinter, curious. "Sensei?" Leo asked.

"I will order a pizza for us all." Splinter answered after many moments of silence. "I feel you all deserve it for having such a challenging day." He then held out his hand, signaling for Leo to hand him his phone so that he could call the pizza place. Leo put his phone in Splinter's palm and could feel a grin on his face.

"Thanks, Sensei." Leo said with appreciation.

"You are welcome, my son." Splinter replied, glancing at his son briefly before holding the phone to his ear as the dial tone went off. "Now, please. Go rest."

Leo nodded, heading back into Raph's room, who was now bickering at Donnie about not getting to participate tomorrow night. Leo let out a sigh, slowly making his way over to where Raph was. "Raph," Leo said, keeping his voice as calm as possible. "Do you want to move into the living room? I think I'll be in there." Leo then looked at his other two brothers, who nodded in reply. Anything but standing around was fine with them, especially Donnie.

"Whatever." Raph grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I guess it's better than being stuck here alone..." He then let out a cough as his abdomen started aching again, but, he tried his best not to show his pain. Though, his brothers caught on pretty quickly.

"We'll all keep a watch on Raph." Leo announced, turning his back and heading towards the Pit. "By the way, Master Splinter is ordering pizza."

"Sweet!" Mikey said excitedly, a huge smile forming on his face. "I was wanting pizza!"

"You always want pizza." Donnie teased as he limped about on his bō staff. "Could you help Raph out?"

"No problemo, dude!" Mikey replied as he grinned cheekily. Mikey walked over to Raph's bed, waiting as his brother brought himself into a sitting position. "Come on, dude!" Mikey said as he put his arm on Raph's shoulder to support him. "Let's get some pizza!"

"I don't need help." Raph growled as he tried to pry Mikey's supporting arm off of him.

"I bet you do." Mikey answered, helping Raph walk along on his shaky limbs. "Come on!"

"Fine, fine." Raph huffed, finally letting his younger brother help him out. He didn't WANT help, but, truthfully, he knew he needed it. His legs were shaky, and he would have a hard time walking because of it. Raph sighed, allowing his brother to lead him to their location. He hoped the pizza would arrive soon.

After the pizza had arrived, the turtles had all snarfed down the Italian treat, quickly emptying the boxes, all except two slices, which got put in the fridge. They all were now resting in front of the couch, watching as Leo watched his reruns of Space Heroes. The blue banded turtle sat in front of the TV joyfully, wanting to catch every moment of the episode.

"This is getting intense!" Leo squeaked as he crossed his legs. He leaned forward towards the screen, watching a fight scene take place.

"And you've seen this _how_ many times?" Raph dully asked, rolling his eyes.

"Twelve times, to be exact." Donnie replied, looking down at the back of Leo's shell. "And, he's been playing this so much, I'm even starting to know what'll happen. Like, right now, a laser will fire." A laser then fired on the TV, slamming into Captain Ryan's ship.

"We're under attack!" Leo said, mimicking the Captain's words.

"I bet he knows the words for everyone in this darn show." Raph mumbled. He then looked at Leo, though Leo didn't look back at him. "Come on, Leo!" Raph huffed. "Go to bed! Get some sleep for tomorrow."

"Fine, fine." Leo replied, grabbing the remote and powering off the TV. He then looked over at everyone, who still hadn't left the bench.

Mikey curled up near Raph, part of his plastron on Raph's good arm. Raph let out a sigh, looking over at Donnie, who shrugged. "I...it's best I didn't walk." Donnie whispered, trying to stay quiet for his sleeping brother. "I guess we can all just stay here."

"Alright." Leo mumbled sleepily as he sat next to Donnie. "Let's get some shut eye."

Everyone mumbled their good nights and then fell asleep within a few minutes. Everyone except for Raph, who lay awake.

 _My arm is aching._ he thought to himself as he stared into the darkness. _I really don't want both of my arms hurting._ He then glanced down the bench, seeing his brothers sleeping. He didn't dare move Mikey. If he moved him, he'd make him bump into Donnie, and then everyone would wake up. So, he decided just to put up with this.

Raph let out a tired sigh, desperately wanting to fall asleep, but, his mind was racing. So, he lay awake, thinking. But, the thing that bugged him the most was the thought of his brothers finally ending all this madness tomorrow night...all without him.

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading so far, guys! :) Also, I saw that you guys were leaving reviews making idea suggestions and I am afraid I can not take ideas for this story. Why? Because I finished it a few weeks ago for Deviantart but am uploading it slower on here for an idea of suspense xD So, enjoy!**


	11. Chapter 11

The Mistake Ch. 11  
Enough

Everyone woke up the next morning nice and refreshed, except Raph, who had been thinking about the events that would occur tonight. He wished he could go with them, but, his brothers kept refusing, no matter what he said or suggested. Even worse, they were now making April and Casey come to watch him, just so he wouldn't try to escape. Raph sighed, turning his head towards the kitchen to see Mikey in there, already cooking away.

"Hey dude!" Mikey exclaimed happily, turning away briefly from the food we was cooking. He then raised an eyebrow when he saw how tired Raph looked. "Geez, Raph! Did you get any sleep at all?"

"No..." Raph huffed, draping his arm over the bench. "I didn't."

"Was it because of me?" Mikey asked, pointing at himself, his eyes wide, completely forgetting about the pancakes that were now burning. "I snored too loud, didn't I?"

"No, Mikey." Raph grumbled in an irritated tone, lazily waving his hand towards the stove. "Just check your pancakes, you dork."

Mikey whipped around, gasping at the sight of the dark brown pancakes, and wrinkling his nose at the awful smell of burnt food. "Oh no!" he cried out, rushing forward and scooping the pancakes onto a plate with a fork. He let out a sigh of relief, whipping his forehead with his hand. "Well, they're not golden brown like they're suppose to be." The orange banded turtle then simply shrugged his shoulders and picked up one of the pancakes, taking a bite out of it.

"At least it's still edible." Raph muttered, turning his head towards the scene. He furrowed his eyebrows. "You gonna just eat that thing dry?"

"Wait, do we have syrup or something?" Mikey wondered aloud, growing happier by the second. " _Sweetness!_ " He then rummaged through the cabinets, trying to find the sweet topping as Raph sat there, shaking his head. Raph then turned his head towards the turned off TV in front of him, staring blankly ahead.

 _What am I doin'?_ Raph thought to himself as he brought his hand up so he could rest his head on his palm. _What am I doin' just staring ahead like some zombie or somethin'? Don't I have anything to do? Wait...I don't. That's right._ Raph threw his head back to stare at the ceiling, and jumped slightly when he saw Leo standing there, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Funny seeing how bored you are." Leo joked, laughing slightly as he put a hand on his hip casually. "Too bored to do anything."

"And what exactly where _you_ doin' so far, smart alloc?" Raph replied with an annoyed tone, his eyes narrowing. "You sure haven't come out to see the sun."

"I've been busy training. You know that." Leo muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, you're one to talk. What's on TV?"

Raph's expression changed to where Leo thought he was going to kill him, though, it quickly changed to an irritated glare. "It's a show I like to call nothing. Sounds great, huh?" Raph replied, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Leo sat on the bench, just a few spots away from his brother, and, Raph finally seemed to notice that he had a pancake in his hand and was holding out his arm, offering the pancake to him. Raph took it, still keeping the irritated expression glued to his face. "Gee, thanks."

"Don't mention it." Leo answered. He put one hand on his lap while he let the other drape along the back of the bench. He watched as Raph took a bite of the burnt food, cringing slightly at the taste. He then sat and chewed and chewed, staring at the blank television once again, as if he were watching something. "Something on your mind?" Leo asked, crossing one leg over the other.

"Sure." Raph responded after a moment of silence.

"And what's that?"

"Maybe he's thinking about all the butt we're gonna kick tonight!" Mikey laughed as he plopped himself down on the seat next to Raph. "Poor little Raphie doesn't get to break some bones."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm thinkin' of," Raph responded, letting out a loud sigh. "And maybe I _will_ get to break some bones tonight...starting with you."

"Okay, okay, I take it back!" Mikey said, getting worried by Raph's deadly glare. "Th-that's too bad you can't come tonight."

"Yeah...too bad." Raph growled, crossing his arms across his chest. He let out a cough, which worried his brothers for a second, but, their worry quickly disappeared. "I'm feeling fine Leo, I guarantee. Just let me come, just to see that creature go away forever."

" _Not_ happening, Raph, I'm sorry." Leo answered, letting out a soft sigh. He sat forward, staring at Raph with a look of all seriousness. "Who knows what could happen? It's best you recover fully before you go topside again."

Raph let out a groan, throwing his head back in defeat. He then lifted his head after a minute or two of quiet. "When's Donnie givin' me my stupid shot?" he asked, not really interested in an answer, though, he knew his brothers would answer anyway.

"This afternoon." Leo answered, getting up from his seat.

Mikey shuddered when he heard Raph mention the word "needle". "No needles, **_no!_** " he cried, stretching out the 'no' at the end to make it emphasized. " I h _hate_ those things! They hurt, man! Like, a lot! Especially those big ones that are like huge tubes going down into your arm! It's so-"

"Aw, shut up!" Raph groaned, shoving Mikey away, growing discussed by Mikey's graphic descriptions. "Nice job making me feel even more happy about that, Mikey! I can't wait for Donnie to come up to me with a needle now!"

Leo smirked, sitting back in his seat again. "Donnie the mad scientist." he muttered with a chuckle.

Raph rolled his eyes, finishing off the pancake. He hoped today would go slowly...after all, he dreaded nightfall coming. Maybe, if daylight lasted a bit longer, he'd by happier...

Nighttime finally came in New York, and it was late enough for the city's sky to be covered in darkness, despite the occasional star hanging above. Everyone else except Raph and Splinter were at the exit, waiting for April and Casey to show up. Splinter was finishing off his tea as he waited, watching Raph's grumpy expression.

"Why can't I still not come?" Raph asked, shifting the arm that Donnie put the antidote in earlier. He winced, not wanting to admit out loud that the somewhat-large needle that Donnie used left his arm quite sore.

"How many times do we have to explain this to you, Raph?" Donnie questioned, letting out a sigh. "We don't know what that poison could do. It could react with your body heat, or, even your increase of heart rate if you run. You're NOT coming."

Raph let out a loud sigh, sinking down into the bench. There was no need to argue anymore. After all, he'd keep getting "no"'s. He sat there for several minutes, staring at the ceiling mindlessly until he heard footsteps and voices. April and Casey had arrived.

"Hey, April." Donnie said in a friendly tone, grinning like an idiot and waving.

April smiled at Donnie and then became more serious. "You guys be careful out there, okay?" April asked, worried for their safety.

"Don't worry, April. We should be just fine!" Donnie assured her, patting his belt to show where the mixture was being held. "We'll be back before you know it!"

Splinter looked at each of his sons, and each of them nodded to their father, signaling that they were ready to head out. Everyone turned to leave then, but, Mikey wanted to say one more thing before he went topside.

"See ya, April and Casey!" Mikey yelled out, waving his hand as he left. "Don't let Raph escape!"

Raph let out a loud exhale, rolling his eyes at his younger brother's comment. He crossed his arms in front of his chest as the two teens walked up to where he sat. "I don't need a babysitter..." he grumbled, giving them both a glare.

"Well, apparently you _do._ " April answered, sitting herself next to the mutant turtle. "You'd probably try to get away if no one was here."

"So what if I get away?" Raph mumbled, draping his good arm over his eyes. "Just sitting here all anxious isn't gonna do me any good...I need some action. Haven't had any in a day or two."

"Sorry, Raph." Casey said apologetically as he sat next to the red-banded turtle. "I wish I could be there too...but you know what your brothers said."

Raph let out a loud sigh, taking his arm away from his eyes. "This sucks." he grumbled. "Sure wish I could be topside right now..."

"Well, you're not." April sighed. "Just accept it, Raph. You can't go."

"Sorry," Casey said sheepishly as he looked at Raph apologetically. "You can't win this fight bro."

Raph let out another sigh. It was true. April was stubborn and it was quite difficult to win an argument with her. Raph still didn't like to face that he was stuck in the sewers for who knows how long.

"Let's be sure to go and beat some Purple Dragons when you recover!" Casey smiled, punching his fist into his open hand. "That'll get you some action."

"Thanks, Case." Raph said with a smirk. "Kicking some butt sure sounds great right now."

"Are we almost there, Leo?" Mikey whined, throwing his head back and letting his arms dangle. "We've been walking _forever_!"

"We haven't been walking that long, Mikey." Donnie answered with an irritated sigh. "We've only been walking for four minutes."

"Yeah, Mikey." Leo replied. "Could be worse."

"Well, it feels like we've been walking for four _hours_." Mikey groaned, dragging his feet. Leo let out a sigh, shaking his head slowly and hiding his face in the palm of his hand. "What?" Mikey asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did I say something?"

"We're almost there, Mikey." Donnie mumbled, staring at his T-phone for a location. "According to this map, the next manhole is just a minute or two away from us."

" _Finally!_ " Mikey cried, throwing his hands in the air.

"Shh!" everyone hissed, turning towards Mikey and putting their fingers on their lips.

Mikey smiled awkwardly as they continued to walk down the sewers in search for the manhole. Finally, they found it after about a minute or two.

"Finally, after this long and treacherous journey, we have arrived at our destination!" Mikey said, lowering his voice so that he sounded like a narrator.

"It wasn't long _or_ treacherous." Donnie said with a roll of his eyes. He then looked at Leo and gestures towards the ladder. "Lead the way."

Leo nodded and started making his way up the ladder, gripping the cold rungs tightly. Splinter followed close behind and the rest of the turtles followed behind him. Once they climbed out of the manhole, they stood in an alley, and luckily no one was in it. Leo then glanced up at the rooftops, knowing they'd all have to go up there.

"We need to head to the rooftops." Leo said. He then glanced over at Splinter. "Will you be able to jump across?"

"Of course, Leonardo." Splinter replied, a small smile forming on his face. "I'm not _that_ old yet."

Leo smirked, and then glanced up at the rooftops. "Alright then." he said. "Let's go!"

They all climbed up the fire escape to get to the top of the building. They all then stood, staring at the sky and thinking about a plan to use. This would have to be a reasonable plan, of course. They didn't want that thing finding their home with April, Casey and Raph inside it.

"Alright, guys, we need a plan." Leo informed, looking at every one of his brothers. He knew Splinter would follow whatever was said.

"I have one, actually." Donnie said, looking quite proud of himself. "So, what we should do is travel a little distance from where the Lair is. That way, it's not obvious to the creature that we're guarding our home."

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Leo replied with a nod of his head. "Let's go out about a mile or two. Then, if the creature shows up, do **_not_** head in the direction of home!"

Everyone dipped their head in reply and then followed behind Leo. Their mission had begun.

Raph sat on the couch staring blankly at the TV as Casey watched a hockey game. The teen boy was leaned forward in his seat, smiling and taking in every detail. Raph honestly wasn't too much into hockey. Though, he'd watch it for Casey's sake.

"Raph!"

Raph jumped slightly and looked over, seeing April staring at him with a look filled with annoyance and confusion. And, Raph could tell she'd called him more than just once.

"Sorry..." Raph muttered, glancing at her apologetically. "Wasn't paying attention."

"Obviously." April answered with a huff.

"Come on, score!" Casey hissed, leaning in even closer and resting his elbows on his knees. "Come on, come _on!_ "

April and Raph stared at Casey for a long while and then the silence got broken when April let out another sigh. "Why are you so bummed about this anyway, Raph?"

Casey turned his attention away from the game so he could hear Raph's answer. "Yeah, Raph." Casey muttered, putting a piece of popcorn in his mouth. "I'm wanting to know the answer to that too!"

Raph glanced at them as if they were crazy. He raised an eyebrow, opening and closing his mouth slightly, not sure how to respond to what the two teens just said. " _Seriously?_ " Raph huffed, wondering if he should tell or not. "That thing has tried to kill me! More than once!" He shook his head. "If something or someone has tried to kill you repeatedly, wouldn't you want to see them fall?"

"I have to admit," April answered with a shrug. "Yeah...I would."

Raph nodded, gesturing towards April, knowing he proved his point with the red-headed teen.

"What all happened?" Casey asked curiously as he hit the pause button on the remote. Hockey wasn't important right now. "Wasn't there for most of it."

"Well, when it first found me, it tried to drown me." Raph explained. "But, my brothers got to me before it could drown me, and it grew mad about that. It now hates me because I escaped it, so then it tried to poison me. But, Leo took the impact instead."

"Well, I remember the Leo part." Casey muttered, shuddering slightly at the memory or Leo coughing and gasping when he woke up. "Pretty scary stuff."

"Yeah..." Raph said, looking at the ground. "Then, it managed to poison me this time...which is why I can't go topside."

April stared at him with a look of worry and a look that showed she truly felt bad for the mutant ninja. "Is it hurting you?" she couldn't help but asked as she glanced at Casey quickly.

"I feel the effects sometimes..." Raph sighed, leaning back on the bench and putting his hand on his forehead. "Like, I get abdominal pain sometimes...but, hey, it's not so bad. Could be worse, I guess."

"Yeah, it could be worse." April agreed, sitting forward. "You could be dead."

Raph nodded, crossing one leg over the other. "I wonder what they're doin' up there..." Raph wondered as he gazed at the paused television; it being paused right when the opposing team was about to get a goal. "Having all the fun without me..."

"Hey, cheer up, Raph!" Casey smiled, throwing his arm across Raph's shoulders. "You can have fun down here with us!"

Raph smirked and then finally let a chuckle escape him. He got Casey to smile as he chuckled too. "Too bad we're not kicking butt." Raph said with a smirk.

"Yeah..." Casey replied slowly, honestly wishing he could be fighting too, though, he knew her stand no chance. "Too bad..."

Raph was all about action and when he didn't get any action, it made him feel insane. But, the fact that made him the most infuriated was the fact that he was being left out.

The group on the mission had been standing on the rooftop about a mile and a half away for around five minutes so far. Mikey had started pacing back and forth, whining about waiting and Donnie was playing a brain game on his T-phone.

Leo and Splinter, however, stayed serious and decided to watch together, and they'd be sure to call the others when they saw the creature come up. Leo cleared his throat and then began to speak.

"I'm honestly nervous about all of this." Leo chuckled nervously as he watched the roof.

"And what are you nervous about, my son?" Splinter asked, keeping his gaze on the rooftops and not turning away to look at his son.

"This fight." Leo answered honestly. He looked up at his Sensei with a worried expression, biting his lip slightly. "I'm afraid someone will get hurt...like Raph did."

"And if someone does get injured, I hope that creature will be gone forever." Splinter answered, finally meeting his son's gaze. "But you must know that even if your brothers are injured, it is not your fault."

"I...I know, Sensei..."Leo sighed, looking back towards the rooftops so he wouldn't lose sight of the creature if it came. He then sighed again, looking down at the ground. "I just wish this never happened..."

"And is this your fault?"

"No...Mikey started this...b-but it was an accident! A _mistake!_ " Leo cried, slumping his shoulders. "And poor Donnie...we didn't even believe him at first...we thought he was lying."

Splinter stayed silent, so that he could let his son speak and let his emotions out. It would be better for him instead of it keeping it bottled up inside.

"He saw the signs...he knew something bad was going to happen." Leo let out a sigh of defeat, shaking his head slowly. "And...maybe if we believed him, that thing wouldn't have formed in our Lair and attacked Raph...that thing hates him!"

"And why's that?"

"I think this thing thinks that Raph is "unfinished prey" or something." Leo explained. "It's out to finish him off...and then it'll come for us." Leo let out a grunt, stomping his foot on the ground once in frustration. "Why did this have to happen? Why did that liquid have to spill?!"

"Leonardo," Splinter said quietly, looking up to the sky, which had very little stars showing, due to the city lights. "Do you realize things happen for a reason?"

"Well, of course, Sensei." Leo answered, looking back at Splinter with a questioning glance. "But why is this happening? What is the reason?"

"We may never know the true reason." Splinter replied, looking at his son. "But, I have something in mind."

"Really?"

"Maybe this happened to bring you all closer." Splinter explained, putting a tiny smile on his face. "Maybe this is bringing us together as family. Life is testing us. We mustn't let it break us."

Leo returned the small smile.

"Though there were scars and struggles, this has shown how much you all care." Splinter said, looking at Leo proudly. "And I am proud you all care about each other."

Leo's smile grew wider as he listened. "I'm proud too." Leo said, looking back at Mikey and Donnie. "I'm proud to call them my brothers."

"How much longer, Leo?" Mikey complained, stopping his pacing. "First we were in the sewers forever and now we'll be _waiting_ forever!"

"First of all, we were only in the sewers for a few minutes." Donnie groaned with annoyance as he paused his game and set his T-phone aside. "Secondly, who knows how long we'll be up here? Would you rather start heading to the Lair and have that creature follow you back?"

Mikey fell silent and he started whistling awkwardly, staring up at the sky. Splinter shook his head at Mikey, letting out a soft sigh.

"Keep your mind focused, Michelangelo." Splinter cell instructed. "You must pay attention to the mission."

Mikey let out a groan, throwing his head back and letting himself sink to the ground. "What time is it, Donnie?" he whined.

"If you're wanting to know how much time we've been out here, since you most likely are, we've only been here for ten minutes...deal with it." Donnie answered with an irritated groan. "Hopefully it won't take much longer."

"Yeah, dude!" Mikey cried, laying flat out in the ground. "The sooner we get this thing out of the picture, the better." He then paused, laying there silent for a good minute or two as he stared up at the night sky. "What do you think Raph's doing?" he asked, propping himself up to look at his brothers and Sensei.

"Probably moping." Leo answered truthfully. "He did really want to come up here."

"Guys." Donnie said, pointing over near Leo. "It's coming."

Leo spun around to see the creature barreling towards them about a few miles off in the distance, and it did not look happy. Mikey gulped nervously as he saw the creature.

"Can I trade places with Raph?" Mikey asked, his eyes widening. "Because right now I wish I was home right now!"

Casey was no longer interested in his hockey game, though, having silence throughout the Lair caused some boredom, especially from Raph. He stared at the floor, drumming his fingers on his knee pad. He let out a huff, hanging his head down.

"Yeah, I'm bored too." Casey groaned as he rested his legs on one of the beanbags on the floor. "I getcha."

"Why don't we do something, then?" April suggested.

"Like _what?_ " Raph grumbled, burying his face in his hands.

"Well, I don't-"

"Because apparently I can't really do _anything_ right now!" Raph yelled, taking his hands away from his face swiftly. "I can't train, can't run, can't do _anything_! Well, I'm sick of it! I really am!"

"We get it, Raph!" Casey replied, grabbing onto Raphs arm before he could get up from his seat. "We know! We're bored too! And I'd sure hate to be stuck in your situation!"

"Come on, Raph." April said gently. "You need to stay down here."

Raph stayed silent for a bit, letting a frown deepen his features. His muscles then tensed, and Casey tightened his grip, since he knew Raph might try and do something stupid. Raph stayed put for about a minute or so. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled his arm out of Casey's grip, quickly rising to his feet. The sudden movement made him slightly dizzy, but, he didn't care.

"Raph, sit back down!" April shouted, sitting in the edge of her seat.

" _No!_ " Raph shouted back, standing his ground. "I'm sick of being down here!"

"Come on, Raph!" Casey cautioned as he too stood to his feet. "Don't do anything stupid!"

Raph out a glare on his face and then turned his back on the two teens. "I'm leavin'," he said, his voice low. "Whether you like it or not."

He then started to run out, ignoring the shouting of his name behind him.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! I am so sorry that I haven't been replying to your reviews! I have been seeing them on my email, however, they are not showing up here on fanficton, so I can not reply to them. Sorry about that!**


	12. Chapter 12

The Mistake Ch. 12  
The Final Battle

The red banded turtle ran, feeling his feet thud onto the damp concrete of the sewers. He hadn't been running too long, but, he was running hard enough for him to be panting. He let out a growl of annoyance, hearing his T-phone go off for the third time already. He took the phone out of the pocket on his belt, quickly glancing at the screen to see that it was Casey trying to get a hold of him this time. Raph ignored the call, but was starting to wonder why the two teens weren't following him.

Truthfully, April and Casey knew that they couldn't catch him. Raph was too determined to escape, and, he was going too fast. They couldn't run as fast as he was going. They had tried contacting one of the other turtles, but they weren't answering either. So, they decided to stay in the Lair and wait and see if anyone contacted them.

Finally, Raph reached the nearest manhole and instantly started climbing up the ladder. As soon as he lifted the heavy cover, he heard thunder rumbling in the distance.

"Looks like a storms coming." he muttered to himself as he put the heavy cover back in its place. He glanced around, trying to find a way onto the rooftops. "And where are the guys?" He glanced around one more time and then saw a fire escape to climb up.

"Perfect." Raph said with a smirk as he jumped onto the fire escape. He made his way up the stairs and then jumped onto the roof, looking at the city. He knew he would find his brothers eventually, and when he did, he wanted the joy of killing off the creature himself.

"Look out, thing." Raph snarled, breaking into a jog. "I'm coming for ya."

The creature was getting closer and closer by the second and everyone was getting prepared to fight. Most had their weapons drawn. Though, Mikey was panicking about this.

"What do we do, dudes?!" he frantically asked as he ran around in circles, waving his arms about. "What do we do?!"

"We already know what to do, Mikey." Donnie sighed, putting his T-phone in the pocket on his belt and taking out his bō staff. "We fight this thing."

"And hope we fight well." Leo said, glancing at Master Splinter. "These injuries could really slow us down."

"Indeed they could, my son." Splinter replied, getting himself into a battle stance. "But you mustn't worry. I have faith in you all."

Thunder rumbled in the distance once again as the creature got closer. The team looked up at the night sky and listened, for they knew a storm was approaching. The creature then skidded to a stop right in front of them, a low growl rumbling in its throat. Thunder rumbled again and then rain started to pour down, drenching everyone on the roof.

Tigerclaw, Fishface and Rahzar then came up behind the creature, staring down each member of the team. Tigerclaw looked at the two mutants next to him, smirking and letting out a laugh.

"I guess we finished the red one after all." the mutant tiger laughed, looking at the turtles. "I see you had to use the rat to replace him."

Leo narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening slightly on his katanas. A frown formed on himself as he felt the rain drizzling down face, and as his enemies laughed over the thought of one of his brothers being dead. Leo wanted to tell them that Raph was still alive, but, them assuming he was dead was best for now. After all, he didn't want them to discover their home.

Leo looked back at his brothers, pure determination showing in his features. "Let's do this, guys." he said softly. He saw that he got a nod out of everyone in his team before he turned his head to face his enemies again.

"Do you think you can beat us, turtle?" Fishface chuckled. He pointed with his thumb over towards the creature. "In case you didn't know, Baxter Stockman was kind enough to create a new poison. Now we can eventually get you all. You all will no longer be there to claim your victory. We'll triumph. Because, after all, when a team of four loses a member, you're weakened, yes?"

Leo gritted his teeth and finally decided to charge. Unfortunately, Fishface was expecting his attack and dodged at the last second. Donnie and Mikey followed, taking on Tigerclaw. That left Splinter with Rahzar.

Splinter dashed forward, jumping into the air. Rahzar turned around the very second Splinter brought his foot out, kicking him in the face. Rahzar stumbled back, a hand on his cheek. He looked up at Splinter, an angry growl coming out of his mouth.

"You'll pay for that, _rat_!" the bony mutant snarled, baring his teeth dangerously.

Splinter didn't say anything. He just stood there, awaiting Rahzar's attack. Finally, after a few seconds of hesitation, Rahzar decided to strike, though, Splinter easily dodged his attack. Each time Rahzar tried to hit him, Splinter would dodge, since he knew when each attack was coming.

Meanwhile, the turtles were busy battling their foes. Leo and Mikey fought separate enemies, though, they tried to back Donnie up so he could throw the mixture on the creature. Donnie decided to now take on the creature, since he was the one with the mixture. He watched its movements carefully, every twitch, every movement of its arm, every noise. He had to know when the creature would attack. He couldn't get hurt again.

"Any luck, Donnie?" Leo shouted, using his katanas to block Tigerclaw's claws.

"No!" Donnie replied, flipping over one of the creature's arms. "I'm waiting for the best time!" Donnie landed, wincing slightly as he landed on the ground with his bad leg. The creature shot its arm out, trying to inject the new poison into Donnie. Luckily, Donnie dodged, missing the arm by inches.

"Well, you'd better hurry!" Leo cautioned, ducking under a punch from Tigerclaw. "With these injuries, we may not be able to do this for long!"

Lighting snaked across the sky as the mutants all battled each other. The roof was getting slippery due to the rain falling and puddles were forming. The fight had been going on for a few minutes and all was going well. That was until Donnie slipped on a puddle.

Donnie let out a soft yelp as he fell on his bottom, pain shooting up his leg. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to get the sudden pain to pass. He all of a sudden heard a low growl, which made him look up slowly. Rain slid on his face and got in his eyes, which was making his vision blurry, but, he could tell the creature was standing right above him, waiting to finish him.

Leo looked over just in time to see Donnie sitting on the ground, staring up at the creature with a shocked expression. Leo frantically looked over at Mikey, who was now looking at Donnie as well. Mikey quickly gestured to Leo to keep fighting.

"What are you doing, Mikey?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Keep fighting, dude!" Mikey answered, swinging his nunchucks. "I've got this!" He then ran towards Donnie, determined to help his older brother.

Donnie looked over just as Mikey starting charging towards him and the creature.

"Don't you hurt my brother!" Mikey shouted. He slid on the ground, grabbing Donnie as he did so. The rainwater helped them skid a few feet away from the creature, giving them both time to get on their feet and escape.

"Thanks Mikey." Donnie panted, still feeling a slight throb in his leg. "I appreciate it."

Mikey nodded. He was slightly in pain as well because of his arm. When he grabbed Donnie, it hurt some what. He didn't want to admit it at the moment, though.

Donnie limped over to where Leo was fighting Tigerclaw with Mikey following close behind. Leo was having difficulties trying to push Tigerclaw back. It seemed Tigerclaw was using all his strength to push against Leo. They could all tell because of how tense the mutant tiger's muscles appeared. Finally, with a loud grunt of effort, Leo managed to shove Tigerclaw back. The mutant tiger stumbled back, growling.

The three turtles stepped back as well, each one next to each other. Splinter quickly joined in the line too, watching every single move from every single enemy. If someone were to fall tonight, he thought it should be him. He was the turtles father and Sensei and it was his duty to protect the ones he loved. And if that meant dying in the process, then at least he carried out his duty.

In fact, every turtle standing there was thinking the same thing as Splinter. If someone fell, it sure as heck wasn't going to be their Sensei or one of their brothers. But, everyone thought there was one turtle that has to be protected the most: Donnie. Donnie didn't think this himself, but, he knew everyone else was thinking it. Donnie had the mixture, Donnie knew how to use it. If Donnie fell, they'd have to try and stop the creature themselves, without the mixture. Or, they could figure out how to use it, but, they weren't sure if there was something special to it, though, there really wasn't. Screw off the airtight lid and throw it, pretty much. But, everyone else didn't know that.

Everyone stood, feeling the rain wash down their skin. Thunder tumbled again, but louder than all the other times before. The storm was right on top of them. After many moments of silence, all of the enemies smirked and then Tigerclaw let out a cackle.

"You can't beat us, fools." he said as he laughed. "Sure, it is four against four. But, we are much stronger." Tigerclaw smirked. "You four are too weak to fight with us..."

"Make that five!"

A flash of green shot through the air, and, before anyone could react, Tigerclaw let out a shout, putting his hand over his cheek.

"Who kicked me?!" Tigerclaw shouted with a snarl. He glanced over at the four heros, getting shrugs out of everyone but Splinter. Tigerclaw growled, his eyes narrowing dramatically. His head then whipped to the right to see a figure land on the ground and then straighten himself up, standing with a weapon in both of his hands.

"Raph...?" Donnie whispered.

The figure dashed forward, hitting into Rahzar. The bony mutant stumbled back, letting out a growl mixed with a shout if surprise. The enemies were growing very impatient now. They wanted to know who this person was that kept attacking. They wanted to see his face, know who he was. They got their wish when the figure went behind the group of heros, and, Donnie was correct. It was in fact Raph.

"The red one?!" Fishface snarled, his eyes widening slightly. He heard low rumble come from the creature and he instantly knew it was enraged at the sight of the mutant turtle.

"Raph?!" Leo asked, turning around to face his brother. Everyone else turned around as well, looks of shock on their faces. They weren't expecting Raph to come at all. In fact, they thought he'd be too weak to be able to run all the way over to the fighting ground. Everyone was amazed by how Raph was even getting around like this.

"Told you I had to come." Raph simply stated, gripping his sais in his hands. "I couldn't just stay down in the sewers."

" _Raphael_!"

Raph gulped nervously, turning his head to see his Sensei standing there, an unhappy face put on.

"Heh..." Raph chuckled timidly. "H-hey there, Master- ow!" His speech was interrupted when Splinter hit him on the arm with his cane, though, he tried to to be too rough with it.

"How many times did we all tell you to stay in the sewers?!" Splinter yelled sternly, his eyes narrowing at his son. "You shouldn't have come up here!"

"But Sensei!" Raph protested, throwing his hands in the air. "I _had_ to come! I couldn't just-"

"We'll discuss this later, Raphael." Splinter said, turning his attention back to his enemies. "Right now we have a fight to finish..." He then sighed, shook his head and then looked back over at Raph. "Now that you are already here...you may stay. But you _must_ return home if you feel weak! And DON'T let your enemies follow you! Do you understand?"

"Hai, Sensei..." Raph mumbled under his breath, obviously not caring about the conversation anymore. The moment his eyes locked on the creature, a feeling of hate filled every once of his body. He had a feeling of revenge, a desire to finish the slime thing off once and for all. Though, he knew doing it with his bare hands wouldn't work. It was all up to Donnie, though, Raph just wanted to see the creature suffer like it had made him suffer. A nice, slow suffering, just like Raph had felt with the poison.

Leo and Splinter both sensed this in Raph and they became fearful for him. They didn't want anger and revenge to take over his mind and blind him of reality. They'd watch over him, just in case. They didn't want him hurting himself...again. In fact, none of them could get hurt again. None of them could afford it.

Fishface couldn't help but smirk as he saw Raph standing there, desperately wanting this battle to commence. "Ah, so the red one is alive, huh?" the mutant fish asked, a slight chuckle in his voice. "Now...which one should we get this time, eh?" He looked up at the creature as he said this, the same smirk stuck on his face the whole time he spoke.

The creature thought things over as it looked at each of its enemies. Maybe it could finally kill off the red one once and for all. No...it had already tried killing him so many times now. It would have to get him later. Maybe their rat master? Yes, yes, their master! Without a master, that would sure slow them down! The creature then scratched that, knowing that the rat wasn't of importance right now. In fact, Donnie was the one of importance. The creature knew that the turtles and the rat were watching his back for some reason, and that reason was probably very important.

The creature finally made it its mind; Donatello would be its next victim. The thing let out a screech, charging forward towards the purple masked turtle. But, Donnie's brothers were prepared and they attacked the creature before it could get to their brother. Eventually, Tigerclaw, Fishface and Rahzar jumped into the battle, watching where the creature went. This time they'd make sure that all of their enemies would suffer here tonight, not just one.

 _The good thing is that the turtles are injured._ Tigerclaw thought to himself as he stood, trying to find his first enemy to attack. _They are being slowed down._ He then frowned, showing his sharp teeth. _The bad thing is that they help each other..._

Leo and Mikey stood in front while Donnie and Raph were behind them, trying to fend off Fishface.

"So," Donnie said, looking over at Raph. "What did you do with April and Casey? How'd you leave?"

"Well," Raph said, stretching out the word. He then smirked as he hit Fishface in the stomach with the butt of his sai and watched as the mutant fish stumbled back. He then turned his head towards his brother to finish his sentence. "I kind of stood up, they told me to stay, I said no and I left."

"You did _what_?!" Donnie exploded, quickly glancing over to see Fishface rising to his feet. "You just left them in the Lair?! _Alone_?!"

"Oh, well _sorry_!" Raph answered in a castigating tone. "Did you want me to escort them home and say 'oh, by the way, I'm gonna go fight this creature even though I was told not to.'?!"

"Well, _no_!" Donnie retorted, seeing that Fishface was charging towards him. He ducked under Fishface's punch and then hit the fish in the face with his bō staff, causing Fishface to fall to the ground. "But why didn't you just listen, Raph? You should've just stayed in the sewers!"

"Well, I couldn't!" Raph simply replied, crossing his arms. "I couldn't stand one more second of being trapped down there..."

Donnie glanced to the side to see that Leo and Mikey were busy fighting the creature while Tigerclaw and Rahzar stayed in the sidelines, planning a sneak attack. Donnie then noticed that Master Splinter was standing behind the creature, planning a sneak attack of his own. After a while he put the pieces together and realized what everyone was doing: Splinter would charge forward and hit into the creature from behind and make it stumble forward. Then, as it is distracted, the three turtles would make room for Donnie to come in.

"Hope this works..." Donnie whispered to himself, putting his hand on his belt where the mixture was being kept. This was all on his shoulders. One wrong move and it would be all his fault.

But, Tigerclaw was beginning to realize their plan just as Splinter got the signal from Leo to charge. His head whipped around to face Rahzar. "Get them!" Tigerclaw shouted, pointing a finger at the turtles. "Hurry!"

Rahzar nodded his head and dashed towards the turtles. He was a bit too late though, since Splinter had already hit into the creature. The creature stumbled forward and Leo, Raph and Mikey jumped aside to make room for Donnie to throw the mixture. Just as Donnie reached down to take the bottle out of his belt, Rahzar rammed into him, making Donnie fly a few feet and slam into the concrete.

"Donnie!" the turtles cried out in unison.

Donnie propped himself up on his arm, hissing as he felt pain in his leg. He then reached down and felt the glass bottle the mixture was in and let out a sigh of relief when he realized the bottle wasn't broken.

Leo rushed over, helping his brother to his feet. He heard his brother letting out small hisses of pain and probably assumed it was because of his leg. "Sorry..." Leo said quietly.

"It's not your fault, Leo." Donnie answered. Leo allowed Donnie to put his arm over his shoulder so that he could be supported and be able to walk, or hop more like, back over to where the guys were.

Leo and Donnie stopped next to Mikey and Raph, face to face with their enemies once again. Leo let go of Donnie, after he got a nod from him, saying he could let go. The leader then rushed forward, katanas drawn, ready to strike the creature.

The creature dodged his first attack but got his second one. It grew angry, slamming its tentacle-like arm into Leo's plastron. Leo flew back a little ways and landed on his side and rolled a few feet. He let out a grunt as his shoulder started throbbing, but tried to ignore it. He lifted his head to to see his Sensei heading over to him, though, he would peek behind his shoulder every now and again, just to make sure the creature wasn't trying to do a sneak attack.

"Donnie needs to use that mixture!" Leo shouted over the thunder as Splinter held out his hand, helping Leo to his feet.

"And Donatello must find the right time." Splinter replied, turning his head back towards the fight. "He mustn't make a mistake. He must be accurate." He then briefly turned his head back towards Leo. "And if your brother needs time, we will be sure to give it to him."

Leo nodded, seeing that Mikey was running towards the creature, Raph not far behind him. Leo still didn't like the fact Raph was here. He shouldn't be fighting at all. After all, the only thing he wanted to see was the creature get destroyed. So why did he have to fight?

"Booyakasha!" Mikey cried out, dashing forward, swinging his nunchucks above his head. "Michelangelo's gonna kick your butt, creature!"

"Does he _have_ to speak in third person?" Donnie mumbled, slapping his palm on his forehead.

Mikey managed to get a kick in, making the creature let out a shriek of anger. Rahzar rushed in so he could get the turtles out of the way, but, Raph stepped in, blocking Rahzar for going past.

"You will _not_ win this fight, turtle!" Rahzar snarled, trying to punch Raph. He pushed against the turtle, trying to throw him off balance so he could strike. "You all will lose. We will triumph! And we will be sure to find your little friends and kill them very slowly..."

"I don't think so!" Raph grunted, pushing forward with all his might. He finally managed to push the bony mutant away and ran towards his brothers so that they could have some assistance.

"Where's Master Splinter?" Mikey asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Over there," Donnie replied, pointing towards the location. "Beating up Tigerclaw."

"Haha! Alright Sensei!" Mikey shouted, an enormous grin on his face. He put his fingers in his mouth, letting out a shrill whistle as he cheered.

Donnie shook his head slowly, hiding his face in his hand. He did have to admit, though, he was glad Splinter was helping them out.

Tigerclaw fell on the ground, rubbing his head where Splinter had kicked him. He pulled out one of his laser guns, shooting it towards Splinter. Luckily, Splinter dodged the shots, making Tigerclaw's anger rise. "Stupid rat..." he snarled. All of a sudden, he sprang to his feet, tackling Splinter.

"Master Splinter!" Raph cried out, turning away from the fight. His distraction however allowed him to get a kick in the jaw by Fishface. Raph fell onto his knees, holding his jaw and letting out a groan. Raph lifted his head to see Leo and Donnie rushing to him. "No, no!" Raph cried out, waving his other hand at his brothers. "Get Master Splinter! I'm fine! Go!"

Leo nodded and turned around, and Mikey followed. Raph then rose to his feet, this time dodging the kick from Fishface and giving the mutant fish a taste of his own medicine by kicking him in the jaw. Raph then took the opportunity of Fishface in the ground to run over to Donnie, who was still trying to find the right time to use the mixture.

"Still trying to use it?" Raph asked, jumping in next to Donnie, his sais in front of his chest.

Donnie jumped slightly when he saw Raph jump next to him and then looked over. "Yeah." he said, ducking under one of the creatures arms. "Still haven't had the chance...this thing keeps hitting me."

Raph looked up, quickly dodging an attack the creature put towards him. "Yeah, and now it's trying to hit me!" He jumped back a foot or so, dodging the creature's arm as it slammed on the ground. "How much did it hit you?"

"Count the bruises." Donnie answered, wincing as he stepped back, causing his bad leg to start hurting. "Then...you'll know."

"Leg giving you trouble?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Donnie then let out a sigh, side stepping another attack from the creature and whacking his bō staff towards it. Unfortunately, the thing dodged Donnie's attack, making the turtle let out of groan. "Poison bothering you?"

Raph fell silent, and he stood. He didn't really know how to respond. He wasn't feeling too well, he had to admit. He felt queasy and some-what light headed, but, he sure wasn't going to tell his brothers or his Sensei that, because he'd end up back to the Lair.

"Raph?"

Raph snapped out of his gaze to see Donnie snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Sorry." Raph apologized, chuckling nervously. "Spaced off." He then looked over to see that Leo and Mikey had managed to get past Shredder's henchmen and they were where Splinter was.

"Get off him!" Mikey shouted, landing on top of Tigerclaw's back. Tigerclaw was now strangling their Senei, but, luckily, the turtles got there in time.

"Get off of me you stupid reptile." Tigerclaw snarled, throwing Mikey off of him. Mikey let out a soft moan as landed on his arm, which still hurt from the cut. Leo decided to give it a try now, dashing towards Tigerclaw and ramming into his side. The mutant tiger fell to the side and Splinter was free from his grasp.

"Are you okay, Sensei?" Leo asked in a worried tone, kneeling down.

"Yes, Leonardo." Splinter said with a nod, taking in deep breaths. "I am not harmed. Now, go. Go help your brothers! I will assist you."

Leo nodded back, rising to his feet and waiting for Splinter to do the same. Splinter slowly rose to his feet, gently rubbing his neck as he rose. Leo ran off towards his brothers, Splinter following close behind him. Leo stopped for a moment by Mikey, who was having trouble rising to his feet since his bad arm hurt. Leo held his hand out and Mikey stared up at him, an embarrassed grin forming on his face as Leo helped him up.

"I didn't need help, dude." Mikey chuckled awkwardly, smirking.

"Mm hmm." Leo mumbled, smirking back.

"Could've done that myself, you know."

"Oh really?" Leo asked, acting like he was going to push Mikey back on the ground so that he'd have to get up himself. Mikey held his hands and and gasped, turning his head away and shutting his eyes. He then heard Leo's laughter and he turned, his eyes angry.

"Come on, Mikey." Leo said, still chuckling slightly. "Let's go."

Mikey followed Leo and Splinter to where Donnie and Raph were, who were still trying to get to the creature, and, it was even harder now, since Rahzar was attacking. Leo ran up behind Rahzar, kicking his back and causing him to fall forward so that Raph and Donnie could push him to the side.

"Leonardo!" Splinter called out, starting to run to the side. "Tell your brothers to get ready!"

"Get ready for what?" Leo asked.

"I will distract everyone else. You four must find a way to distract the creature! Then, Donatello will end this!"

Leo nodded, whispering the plan to his brothers. His brothers all nodded their heads, signaling that they understood. "We've got this, Donnie." Leo whispered, briefly glancing up at the creature. "We'll distract it. You just get prepared to use the mixture."

"Sure thing." Donnie replied.

Raph smirked and punched his fist into his open hand. "Alright!" he said, a nasty grin forming on his face. "Let's end this!"

Leo, Mikey and Raph jumped forward towards the creature while Splinter fought Rahzar, Fishface and Tigerclaw to distract them. The creature shot its arms forward, trying to hit the turtles. Leo and Mikey got hit first, falling backward into their shells. But, with a kick of their legs, they sprang to their feet, rushing forward again. Raph ducked under the creatures attacks, laughing. He knew this creature would lose, and, he was happy about that.

Leo jumped beside Raph and slashed at the creature with his katanas, though, he knew the creature could just heal himself. The creature swiped at him again, but, Leo was prepared this time and dodged his attack. Raph managed to punch the creature, but, this made it very angry. The creature shot its arm out, slamming it in Raph's temple.

Raph fell back, landing on his side and letting out a grunt of pain. He took in deep breaths and eventually opened his eyes to see his brothers fighting the thing still, but, every now and again they'd look back to check on him. Raph tried to stand, but, his head hurt too bad. So, he stated on the ground.

 _Great..._ Raph thought to himself, closing his eyes. _Now I can't take part in the action. Maybe in a few minutes this pain in my head will go away so I can fight again._

Donnie kept trying to duck the creatures tentacles, but, he got hit in the face every now and again. "I thought I _wasn't_ suppose to get hit!" Donnie shouted, leaning back quickly to dodge another attack.

"Sorry, D!" Mikey called back, briefly looking over his shoulder. One of the creature's arms hit Mikey in n his bad arm and he let out a scream, but, instantly covered his mouth with his hand.

"You okay there?" Donnie asked, crouching on the ground. He was sick of dodging attacks.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good." Mikey said, biting his lip. "All good." He saw Leo kick the creature, making it shriek. Mikey then dashed forward and kicked it again, and, since it was distracted, Donnie finally had the chance to end this once and for all.

"Donnie!" Leo shouted, kicking the creature again. " _ **Now**_!"

Donnie nodded, sprinting forward and taking the glass tube out from his belt. He unscrewed the airtight lid, and, when he was finally close enough, he threw it. It hit against the creature, causing the glass to shatter and the liquid to spill on the creatures stomach. Just a little was enough to cause destruction.

The creature shrieked, and it shrieked much louder than it had before. Everyone fell to their knees, covering their ears. Even Shredder's henchmen did so. Raph curled up on the floor, trying to block out the noise, since it was making his head throb. Leo let out a yell of his own, wishing that his ears would stop ringing.

Mikey and Donnie were on their knees too, covering their heads and letting out moans, hoping it would stop soon. Raph opened one eye to see a sight he had been dying to see: the creature dying. Steam rose off the creature and a sizzling sound could be heard as it sunk to the ground. It slowly went lower and lower, continuing to screech in agony as it sizzled. Raph couldn't help but smile. The creature was gone. All of this madness was over forever. And, at the last second of the creature's life, it let out a sound that Raph had never heard before; a roar or anger and pain.

Finally, the creature was sunk down completely and the screeching died off, and, all there was left was a line green puddle on the floor, which quickly got washed away by the rain.

Shredder's henchmen stared in shock when they finally opened their eyes and took their hands off of their ears. The turtles did the same, though, they stayed on the ground, waiting for their heads to stop spinning and their ears to stop ringing.

A look of horror crossed Tigerclaw's face when it suddenly occurred to him what had happened. " _ **No**_!" he screamed, his eyes narrowing in rage. "How could this happen?!"

Raph opened his eyes and brought himself into a sitting position, running his head. Luckily, he was feeling better. Raph then stood to his feet and looked over to see that his brothers were doing the same.

Tigerclaw growled, lunging towards Donnie, but, Donnie jumped back just in time. "You did this!" Tigerclaw roared, fist hands clenching into tight fists. "I'll crush you turtles!"

"No one will be touching my sons." Splinter said, walking up behind the turtles.

"That's for sure." Leo said with a smirk. "Mikey, go ahead and do the honors."

Mikey chuckled, taking a smoke bomb out from his belt. He raised his arm, ready to throw the handmade smoke bomb into the floor. "Booyakasha!" he yelled, throwing the bomb onto the ground. Purple smoke filled the area, making Shredder's henchmen cough and wave their hands in front of their faces. But, when the smoke cleared, they realized to their horror that the turtles and their Sensei were gone.

Tigerclaw growled, turning to Fishface and Rahzar.

"What to we do?!" Fishface asked, pure panic in his voice. "Shredder will have our heads!"

"We must tell him." Tigerclaw sighed.

"Are you _crazy_?" Fishface yelled. "Are you _wanting_ to die?"

"He's right." Rahzar answered with a nod of his head. "Not telling him will only make things worse."

Fishface let out a sigh of his own, nodding towards the others. The three then made their way down the fire escape, not looking forward to delivering the bad news to their Master.

 **Author's Note: Hey guys! Just one more chapter! Also, sorry again for not answering reviews! Fanfiction is being a butt and not updating itself :/ It shows up on my emails but not on here...**

 **Anyway, to grungekitty, the reason the slime creature is wanting to get rid of Raph more than anyone else is because it encountered Raph first. Since it didn't kill him the first time, it has been trying to kill him off, since it wanted to get rid of him in the first place because it sensed that he was an enemy. But, it hates his brothers too.**

 **Also, yes, what Raph did in the last chapter was stupid, but, if you were thinking about revenge constantly, what would you do?**

 **Anyway, thanks to everyone reading! Hopefully fanfiction decides to let me reply to reviews soon.**


	13. Chapter 13

The Mistake Ch.13

The War Is Over

"I am very disappointed in you three." Shredder growled, glaring at the three mutants kneeling before him. "I told you to capture the turtles and you do the opposite?!"

"Master Shredder!" Fishface started, staring at him in terror. "We-"

"Silence!" Shredder roared, standing up from his seat. "You just let the turtles escape and now our new ally is dead." He walked over to the mutants, staring down at them angrily. "You failed to complete your mission."

"PLEASE Master Shredder!"

"I am sick of your pleading." Shredder growled, his hands balling tightly into fists.

"But, Master Shredder!" Rahzar objected. "We can still destroy the turtles! We-"

"Enough!" Shredder roared. "You three failed me. You three are a disgrace." He then glared down at Tigerclaw. "And I am the most disappointed in you." Shredder muttered, narrowing his eyes with anger. "You were suppose to keep the mission together and you didn't!"

"Forgive me, Master." Tigerclaw replied, bowing his head down so that his nose touched the ground. "I will be sure these two will not mess up again."

Shredder glared harder, anger flashing through his eyes. "I am tired of giving too many chances." Shredder growled, walking around the three mutants in a circle, staring them down like a hawk. "You know what happens when you fail to complete your mission. You all will be punished!"

The three mutants gulped nervously and then closed their eyes, awaiting their punishment.

The group of heros had finally made their way down into the sewers, walking along in the cold damp tunnels. They were happy that this was all over. Now, their only responsibility was to heal and rest.

They walked slow, mostly due to stiff muscles and aches. Splinter, however, didn't worry about being slow to let his sons keep up with him. He walked a few feet ahead of them, and everyone could tell he was not pleased. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, which caused the turtles to stop as well.

Everything was quiet. They could all hear the dripping of water coming from the sewer pipes and the pitter padder of rats feet on the wet cement. An uneasiness settled upon everyone.

"Master Splinter...?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Splinter stayed quiet for a bit before he turned around.

"Raphael," he said, giving the red-banded turtle a stern look. "I am very disappointed in you."

"Sensei, you know I couldn't stay down here!" Raph protested.

"And I told you to stay." Splinter answered. "You were told to stay down here so you wouldn't be put in any more danger than you have been in already. But, you disobeyed."

Raph looked down at the ground, letting out a soft huff. He then lifted his head when he heard a sneeze and quickly realized it was Donnie. He then eventually noticed that they were all wet from the rain that had poured down. Everyone was shivering slightly from the cold.

"We will discuss your punishment when we arrive at home, Raphael." Splinter sighed. "We must get home quickly so you boys can rest."

"Resting sounds great!" Mikey dreamily muttered. "Rest my poor aching feet."

"And be sure to cover up too." Donnie added with a sniff. "Before we all catch colds."

Everyone started walking again, trudging along slowly. By now, everyone was letting out sneezes, which worried Splinter. He's be sure to make them all some nice, warm tea when they returned home.

After a few more minutes, everyone saw the familiar turnstiles that marked the entrance of the Lair. A smile came on Mikey's face as he thought of finally relaxing.

"Home sweet home!" Mikey shouted happily as he jumped over the turnstiles and raced towards the Pit so he could sit down. He plopped down on the bench, letting out a content sigh.

April and Casey looked up to see everyone else entering the Lair. Splinter motioned over to the bench, telling everyone to go sit. The turtles all nodded, slowly making their way to the Pit. As soon as Raph passed the teenagers' way, April exploded.

"What were you bold thinking/bold Raph?!" she yelled, quickly jumping to her feet. "Don't you know that you could've gotten killed?!"

"Well, I didn't now, did I?" Raph responded with a slight roll of his eyes. He already knew he was in trouble. He didn't need to be reminded.

"Yeah, dude!" Casey added. "That wasn't cool!"

"I'm already gonna be punished," Raph growled. "No need to insult me more."

"What are you getting grounded from, dude?"

"Don't know."

Casey shrugged his shoulders. "Really though, you should've stayed down here."

Raph quit listening to him after that as he and April kept reminding him about the mistake he made. He didn't want to hear about it anymore.

Splinter stood near Raph, stroking his long, thin beard. He was thinking of a punishment for him, something that would really make him think over things. He didn't want the punishment to be too harsh, though.

April and Casey had eventually gone and gotten blankets for everyone while Splinter was contemplating. The turtles snuggled up on the bench, all cozy. Raph just let the blanket sit on his shoulders as he stared with irritation at the floor as if it had committed a crime.

After a few more minutes, everyone heard Splinter clear his throat. He turned, facing everyone in the Pit.

"I have made up my mind." Splinter said. "Raphael, I do hope you realize what your actions may have caused. Not only did you put your own self in danger, but April and Casey as well. You left them alone with the Foot lurking about.

"I do realize you did not get harmed when you easily could have. However, you disobeyed my commands and, therefore, you are grounded."

"Grounded from what?" Raph asked, looking up.

Splinter raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at Raph's irritated tone. "You are not allowed to watch any television for a week."

"That's it? That doesn't seem so bad."

Splinter's grey eyebrows furrowed. "Along with that, Raphael, the only patrolling you will go on for the next week is only with your brothers."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means, Raphael, that you may not go on your..."Dragon hunts" with Mr. Jones."

Casey and Raph both put on shocked expressions.

"What?" Raph cried, raising his eyebrows. "You can't do that!"

"I most certainly can." Splinter answered sternly. "Patrolling with Casey is something you enjoy. Taking away something you enjoy will leave the most impact. It will help you think about your choices much better. So, Raphael, you may only go topside with your brothers for your missions."

"But that's not fair!"

"No buts, Raphael." Splinter answered. "This decision is final."

Raph let out a loud huff, crossing his arms.

"I am sorry, my son." Splinter added after a few moments of awkward silence. "It hurts me to punish you this way. But, it must be done."

"Aww, come on!" Casey whined. "Don't punish me too!"

"It's only a week,Casey." April sighed. "You'll live."

"No I won't." Casey answered, putting his hands over his eyes. "I'll be dead by morning."

"Better arrange a funeral!" Mikey teased. "You want your casket to be black or brown?"

Casey cast him a quick glance which made Mikey shut up quick. He and Raph both weren't in the mood for jokes at the moment.

Splinter chuckled slightly under his breath, resting his hand on the green top of his cane. "It was not my intention to hurt you as well. However, like I have mentioned, Raphael enjoys this and taking this away is more punishable."

Casey sighed. "Fine." he mumbled. "Maybe Mikey will come with me."

"Heck yes!" Mikey cheered, pumping his fist in the air only to bring it back down again with a slight wince.

April giggled, sitting next to Donnie.

Donnie let out a soft sigh, listening to Casey mumble to himself. Some of the things he said were quite rude. Even though hanging out with Mikey would be fun, he was mad that he wouldn't get to hang around with his best friend.

"Well," Mikey said. "Let's celebrate! That creature is gone, Fishface and Rahzar are probably getting their butts kicked right now and we won, dudes!"

Raph shrugged. Despite him being grounded, he was so glad that the creature was gone forever. He wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. And he was glad that they finally got to rest.

"Who wants pizza?" Mikey sang. "Ooh ooh! Let's get Murikami's! Pizza gyoza bruh!"

"Sure, I could go up topside and get that for you!" April said, standing up. "Perfect way to celebrate!"

"Get lots!" Mikey shouted as April walked out.

"I'll go with you, Red!" Casey yelled to her, running after her.

Donnie rolled his eyes, but, at the same time was glad. Walking around New York at night alone was dangerous, after all.

Mikey crossed his arms behind his head, letting out a content sigh. "It's finally over, dudes!" he said. "The creature be dead."

"Looks like it's not coming back, either." Leo answered. He stayed silent for a moment or two before speaking again. "I'll have to say, though, this is probably the weirdest experience we've had in a while."

"And that's saying something, considering we're mutants." Raph muttered.

"Well," Donnie said. "This was an...interesting experience." He chuckled.

"And it all started with a mistake."

 **Author's Note: Thanks so much guys for reading this story! This is the last chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! :)**


End file.
